eprintid: 10082046 rev_number: 25 eprint_status: archive userid: 608 dir: disk0/10/08/20/46 datestamp: 2019-09-25 13:16:00 lastmod: 2021-10-14 22:32:42 status_changed: 2019-09-25 13:16:00 type: article metadata_visibility: show creators_name: Knight, J creators_name: Burningham, H title: Bedrock hardness values and morphological zonation of a shore platform in South Africa ispublished: pub divisions: UCL divisions: B03 divisions: C03 divisions: F26 keywords: intertidal platform, micromorphology, rock surface hardness, wave-splash, weathering, wetting/drying note: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions. abstract: Shore platforms found along rock coasts worldwide are often interpreted as wave abrasion acting on uniform bedrock surfaces. Whilst this viewpoint may apply at the macroscale, there are complex feedbacks among bedrock properties (rock type, mineralogy, rock structures), weathering and erosion processes and rates, and microtopography at the meso- to microscale. In turn, these influence wave runup, backwash processes, and the extent of wave-splash and physical, chemical, and biological weathering processes that result. This study investigates the relationships among bedrock hardness properties, microtopography, and shore platform denudation processes from a site on the Indian Ocean-facing coast of South Africa. Three shore-normal transects (45–57 m in length) were surveyed across the sandstone platform using a differential global positioning system (GPS). These data were integrated with rock surface hardness measurements along the transects taken using a Proceq Equotip instrument. Results show that platform morphology and hardness values vary considerably, corresponding to the most dominant denudation processes found at different positions in the tidal frame. The lowest hardness values (most extensive rock weathering) are found on the landward third of the platform but away from the land margin. The highest and greatest variability of hardness values are found on bedrock highs immediately above the highest astronomical tide level, in the lower third of the profile. This position suggests a dominant role of wave-splash and wetting/drying. Variations in hardness values and microtopography through the transects were used to develop an evolutionary model linking rock hardness values to specific weathering and erosion processes of the rocky shore platform. date: 2020 date_type: published publisher: Taylor & Francis official_url: https://doi.org/10.1080/0035919X.2019.1670751 oa_status: green full_text_type: other language: eng primo: open primo_central: open_green verified: verified_manual elements_id: 1696115 doi: 10.1080/0035919X.2019.1670751 lyricists_name: Burningham, Helene lyricists_id: HBURN48 actors_name: Burningham, Helene actors_id: HBURN48 actors_role: owner full_text_status: public publication: Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa volume: 75 number: 1 pagerange: 40-53 issn: 0035-919X citation: Knight, J; Burningham, H; (2020) Bedrock hardness values and morphological zonation of a shore platform in South Africa. Transactions of the Royal Society of South Africa , 75 (1) pp. 40-53. 10.1080/0035919X.2019.1670751 <https://doi.org/10.1080/0035919X.2019.1670751>. Green open access document_url: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10082046/1/TTRS-2019-0041.R1_Proof_hi-1.pdf