The geological evolution and sedimentary dynamics of Hout Bay, South Africa

Hout Bay is situated on the Atlantic seaboard of the Cape Peninsula, in the Western Cape Province of South Africa approximately 17 km southwest of Cape Town. Hout Bay is a southward opening bay that hosts a fishing harbour and coastal residential town. This study was initiated to map the marine geology of Hout Bay and to quantify and explain the sediment dynamics of the area. This is important as Hout Bay has the only substantial accumulation of Quaternary sediments on the Atlantic Seaboard of the Cape Peninsula. The Hout Bay study area was saturated with the latest in cutting-edge geophysical techniques to collect detailed and comprehensive bathymetric, sidescan sonar, magnetic, seismic and beach profiling data. Collectively these data can be used to map offshore geological units as well as infer how Hout Bay has responded to the varying changes in sea-level throughout the Quaternary and allow for the reconstruction of the geological evolution of the Hout Bay seafloor.

Grantor dc:publisher.institution

Department of Geological Sciences

Year dc:date.issued

2012

Author dc:creator

• MacHutcheon, Michael R

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Compton, John

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/11427/10948

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:open.uct.ac.za:11427/10948