Longitudinal profile evolution of valleys on coastal terraces under the compound influence of eustasy, tectonism and marine erosion

On the coast of Tosa Bay, Southwestern Japan, there is a wide coastal terrace which was formed in the Last Interglacial and has been uplifted to altitudes of 150–200 m above the present sea level by crustal movement. Many valleys dissect the terrace surface with upwardly convex profiles in downstream reaches. Numerical simulations were conducted to investigate the development of longitudinal profiles of the valleys under the influence of baselevel change and marine erosion. The basic equation used for the calculation had been derived theoretically from the hydraulic mechanism of river erosion. The independent variables are the gradient and curvature of the valley floor and the distance from the divide (drainage area per unit basin width). The parameter in the sediment transport equation is determined based on the results of laboratory experiments. A time sequence of seashore migration which has been caused by marine erosion and relative sea level change due to crustal uplift and glacial eustasy since the Last Interglacial was given as a boundary condition. Numerical calculations were conducted using a finite difference method, starting from 125000 years ago when the shoreline was located at the upper end of the terrace surface, and progressive changes in the valley profiles over time were simulated. The present profiles obtained from the calculation fit quite closely to actual valley profiles, which demonstrates the validity of the equation, and at the same time suggests a formation process for wide coastal terraces.