Rangaunu Harbour is the fourth largest in New Zealand and is the summer home to thousands of wading birds from Alaska and Siberia. The harbour substrate is mainly fine clean sand and 50% is covered in seagrass beds, which have recently become an over-wintering habitat for green turtles from the tropical Pacific.
PDP modelled the predicted response of saltmarsh and mangrove habitats to sea level rise to 2150 for Northland Regional Council. We used eco-geomorphic and hydraulic (TUFLOW) models that predicted the extent of vegetation. The model considered key parameters including depth and period of inundation and accretion rates. Sea level rise will affect nationally important freshwater wetlands at Kaimaumau to the west and Lake Ohia to the east of the harbour.
