Holocene evolution of a barrier-spit complex and the interaction of tidal and wave processes, Inskip Peninsula, SE Queensland, Australia

This paper presents a reconstruction of the Holocene evolution of the Inskip Peninsula in SE Queensland. The peninsula links two major dune fields, the Cooloola Sand Mass to the south and K’gari (Fraser Island) to the north. Geomorphic features of this peninsula include remnant parabolic dunes, numerous beach ridges with foredunes, and a series of spits. Together these features provide insight into Holocene coastal evolution and changing marine conditions. A remnant beach ridge/foredune complex at the northern portion of Inskip may have been connected to K’gari and a river/tidal channel near Rainbow Beach township which separated it from the Cooloola Sand Mass to the south. This channel avulsed northward in the early mid-Holocene (after 8.8 ka) with spit development from the south. This was followed by a phase of beach-ridge/foredune complex development that started by ~6.7 ka. Stratigraphic evidence from the highest and best developed parabolic dunes in the northern portion of Inskip Peninsula indicates dune development from the mid-Holocene beach complex by 4.8 ka. Beach ridges with foredunes continued to prograde but notably declined in size during the late-Holocene. In the latest Holocene (