AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 1 Impacts of Ports along the Pilbara Coast, Western Australia – A Coastline of Global Geoheritage Significance that Services a Mineral-Rich Hinterland MARGARET BROCX Dep artm en t of En vir on m en tal an d Con serv ation Scien ce , Mu rd och Un iversity, Au stralia geoh eritage@iin et.n et.au VIC SEMEN IUK V & C Sem en iu k Research Grou p , Au stralia vcsrg@iin et.n et.au Abstract The Pilbara region in remote north-western A ustralia is mineral-rich with ores being mined/quarried and exported since the 1960s for the wealth of the A ustralian N ation and exported from a range of ports developed specifically for such pu r- poses. However, the Pilbara Coast is one of few arid coasts around the W orld and the most arid coast in A ustralia - it stands unique as the most geomorphologically / geologically diverse arid coast globally and therefore has global coastal geoheritage significance. Ports along the Coast have been and continue to be developed without, or with little regard to their natural values, with impacts in terms of geoheritage and biological values - the parameters for port selection are based on engineering and economic perspectives of coastal proximity and coastal bathymetry in spite of information available for proper management and wise use of this coastal zone. Consequently, some significant coasts have been de- stroyed or markedly modified. W ith the intended growth of the mineral industry, there can be expected further destru c- tion unless government agencies address the geoconservation issues but, in this context, there seems to be both a wide- spread lack of understanding on the part of government agencies of the geoheritage values of this Coast and a lack of geo- ethics. This contribution describes the natural heritage significance of the Pilbara Coast, the ports therein, their impacts and, from a geoethics viewpoint, the notion of centralizing ports rather than to indiscriminately construct facilities dic- tated by economic and port ownership. The Pilbara Coast provides a case study of geoethics where natural history assets of global significance conflict with industrial use. 1. IN TROD UCTION h e Pilbara Coast in th e n orth -w estern Au stralia (Fig. 1) is globally u n iqu e an d sign ifican t in its geoh eritage valu es, coastal p rocesses an d lan d form s, stratigrap h y, m an grove ecology, an d biod iversity. It is on e of eigh t trop ical arid coasts in th e World bu t m arked ly d ifferen t to th e rest; also, com p ared to th e oth er coasts it is th e m ost geologically, geom orp h ologically, an d sed im en tologically d iverse of th e arid coasts (Sem en iu k, 1996) an d th u s globally sign ifican t (Brocx, 2008; Brocx an d Sem en iu k, 2015) an d , in its n atu ral state, sh ou ld h ave been recogn ized as a World H erit- age Site. Th e Pilbara Coast is also th e m ost arid coast in Au stralia an d , w ith coastal featu res p resen t n ow h ere else in Au str alia, e.g., lim e- ston e barriers, arid -zon e d eltas, arch ip ela- go/ ria sh ores, exten sive salt flats (Sem en iu k, 1996; Sem en iu k, 2012; Brocx an d Sem en iu k, 2015), it is n ation ally sign ifican t . Com p rised of Qu atern ary an d Tertiary sed i- m en ts, an d Precam brian rock, th e Pilbara Coast T AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 2 bord ers th e Pilbara u p lan d s, w ith a ran ge of rivers d rain in g th e u p lan d s to th e coast. Qu a- tern ary coastal p rocesses h ave p rod u ced d iffe r- en t coastal typ es th at rep resen t stages of d eve l- op m en t of active to in activ e arid -zon e d eltas, stages of Pleistocen e lim eston e barrier islan d d evelop m en t an d erosion , con stru ction of H o l- ocen e d u n e barriers, an d local ou tcrop of Pr e- cam brian rock (Sem en iu k, 1996; an d Fig. 1). Th e Pilbara Coast con tain s m an y featu res of geoh eritage sign ifican ce, from th e large scale to th e sm all scale (Sem en iu k, 1996; Brocx, 2008): lan d form s su ch as d eltas, Pleistocen e oolitic lim eston e barriers an d th eir m u d -filled sw ales, arch ip elago/ ria sh ores, d eltas th at m erge in to lin ear d u n e field s, rocky sh ore erosion of Pleis- tocen e lim eston es, Qu atern ary stratigrap h y su ch as Pleistocen e oolitic sh oalin g lim eston e sequ en ces an d lim eston e rocky sh ores, H olo- cen e m an grove sequ en ces, tem p estites in beach / d u n e san d s, an d th e com p lexities of beach -rock d evelop m en t. In th e Precam brian rock sequ en ces th ere is coastal geom orp h ology an d m icro-geom orp h ology reflective of th e v a r- iable Precam brian rock typ es, an d w ell- exp osed Precam brian ou tcrop s w ith lith ology Figure 1: The Pilbara Coast in A ustralia, showing simplified geology, the river-dominated grain of the upland terrain, and, in the lower row of insets, the main coastal types in the region (modified after Semeniuk, 1996 and Brocx, 2008). AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 3 an d stru ctu re em p h asized by cliff erosion . Prior to th e in ten sified m in eral exp loration , d evel- op m en t of m in es, solar salt p rod u ction , n a tu ral gas extraction an d liqu efaction , an d th e exp ort of th ese com m od ities d u rin g th e p ast five d e c- ad es (Brocx, 2008; Brocx an d Sem en iu k, 2015), th e Pilbara region h osted p astoral an d agricu l- tu ral activity w h ich h ad im p acts m ain ly on th e h in terlan d (n ot th e coast), an d exp orts d erivin g from th ese latter in d u stries took p lace from lo- cal jetties w ith relatively m in im al effects on th e coast region ally. H ow ever, sin ce 1960 w h en th e Au stralian Govern m en t lifted it s restriction s on th e exp ort of iron ore, en viron m en tally th e Pilbara Coast h as been slow ly d egrad in g, w ith m in eral, solar salt, an d n atu ral gas d evelo p - m en t an d exp ort th at h as resu lted in m assive an d m u ltip le exp an sion of p orts an d in in d u s- trialization . Th is coast p rovid es a case stu d y of geoeth ics w h ere n atu ral h istory assets of global sign ifican ce con flict w ith in d u strial u se. Th e Pilbara region an d its coast are rem ote (th ou san d s of kilom eters from m ajor cit- ies/ tow n s of Au stralia), an d in h abited ove r- w h elm in gly w ith m in e w orkers, laborers, m a- ch in ery d rivers an d m ech an ics, an d ed u cated bu t in d u stry-orien ted p erson n el (geologists, m in in g en gin eers, an d civil en gin eers), all largely w ith an eth os to create w ealth p erson a l- ly an d for th e N ation . Th ere exists little en v i- ron m en tal/ con servation eth os, or a p h ilosop h y th at can be u sed to focu s on th e geoeth ics of en viron m en t-d am agin g activities. A sim ilar critical an alysis of th e Au stralian eth os an d w ay-of-life w as p rovid ed ov er 50 years ago by H orn e (1964) in a book “Th e Lu cky Cou n try”. Th is book w as m isin terp reted by m ost Au stra l- ian s, w h o n ever read p ast th e title, as com p li- m en tary - in fact it w as stin gin g criticism of th e factors m en tion ed above - an d so n oth in g h as ch an ged . In ou r in d ivid u al exp erien ce of 50 years each in en viron m en tal m atters in Western Au stralia, w e h ave con clu d ed th at several factors co n - tribu te to im p ed e scru tin y of th e en viron m en tal d am age an d p oor m an agem en t of region s su ch as th e Pilbara Coast (som e of th ese m atters are d iscu ssed in Brocx [2008] an d Brocx an d Se- m en iu k [2015]). Firstly, th e Pilbara Coast is r e- m ote; it con trasts w ith Perth , th e cap ital of Western Au stralia. th at h as 2 m illion p eop le, five u n iversities, en viron m en tal issu es th at are p roxim al, an d in n u m erable en viron m en tally - orien ted com m u n ity grou p s (e.g., Frien d s of Yellagon ga - h ttp :/ / w w w .frien d sofyellagon ga . com .au / , Th e Con servation Cou n cil of Western Au stralia - h ttp :/ / w w w .ccw a.org.au / , th e Ur- ban Bu sh lan d Cou n cil - h ttp :/ / w w w .bu sh lan d p erth .org.au / , an d th e Wetlan d s Con ser- vation Society - h ttp :/ / w w w .bu sh lan d p erth .org.au / m em ber -grou p s/ 6-statew id e –region al/ 78-w etlan d s-con servation -society, am on gst m an y oth ers). Th e en viron m en tal con - flicts betw een con servation grou p s an d d eve l- op ers an d govern m en t agen cies (su ch as M ain Roads W estern A ustralia, th e Environmental Pro- tection A uthority, an d th e Department of Plan- ning, am on gst oth ers) associated w ith d eve l- op m en t of bu sh lan d , w etlan d s, an d th e coast p rovid e exam p les w h ere th ere is focu sed co n - servation -orien ted activity by th e com m u n ity becau se of in form ed grou p s an d a critical m ass of p erson n el. In th e Pilbara Coast region , a coastal d evelop m en t is com p leted gen erally w ith ou t social con flict becau se th e area is larg e- ly u n kn ow n , th ere h as been a relaxin g of reg u - latory en viron m en tal safegu ard s (in sp ite of th e fact th ere h as been an in crease in kn ow led ge in en viron m en tal m atters an d geoh eritage), an d th ere is n ot th e crit ical m ass of in terested an d p assion ate p eop le - th e ease w ith w h ich a p ort w as d evelop ed at Cap e Preston an d th e facili- ties at Port H ed lan d w ere exp an d ed are exa m - p les. Secon d ly, th e eth os of th e State govern m en t is d riven by an econ om ic im p erative, an d th e m in eral an d fossil-fu el w ealth h as trad ition ally been th e sou rce of n ation al w ealth . Accord in g to govern m en t statistics, th e m in eral an d en er- gy in d u stry in 2016-2017 in Western Au stralia w as valu ed at $105 billion (Dep artm en t of Min es, In d u stry Regu lation an d Safety, 2017). Iron ore rem ain ed th e State’s h igh est valu e com m od ity w ith $67 billion in sales w ith e x- p ort of som e 790 m illion ton n es of ore, an d th e total p rod u ction from th e en ergy sector w as valu ed at $19 billion . Th is sh ow s th e sign ifi- can ce of th e m in in g an d en ergy in d u stries to th e govern m en t an d to th e econ om y of Western Au stralia. Th ird ly, w h ile scien tific literatu re on th e region id eally sh ou ld h ave or cou ld h ave been u sed to AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 4 raise th e en viron m en tal con sciou sn ess of th e scien tific com m u n ity, en gin eerin g com m u n ity, regu latory au th orities, or th e p u blic, it is eith er econ om ically -orien ted (e.g., geological a n d ex- p loration -orien ted literatu re), or “blu e sky” r e- search (e.g., Sem en iu k, 1996), th e latter eith er of little ap p aren t u se to th e broad er scien tific an d en gin eerin g com m u n ity an d lay -p erson , or h as n ot been in terp reted to be of u se for en viro n - m en tal m an agem en t or to aid th e regu latory au th orities to m ake in form ed d ecision s. Th at is, scien tific literatu re on th e r egion u sefu l for con serv ation an d ecologically -sou n d d evelop - m en t is gen erally n ot read or u n d erstood by p rofession al scien tists an d ad m in istrators. Ac- ad em ic staff in Au stralian u n iversities trad i- tion ally u sed to be social an d en viron m e n tal w atch d ogs of Society bu t in th is p ast h alf ce n - tu ry an d m ore sp ecifically in th is p ast qu a rter cen tu ry th is role h as d im in ish ed . Th e sign ifi- can t in flu en ce of In d u stry fu n d in g to u n iversi- ties (w ith atten d an t con sequ en ces of cu rricu - lu m con trol in in d u stry -based an d career - orien ted cou rses) is on e u n d erlyin g reason for th is. Also, govern m en t agen cy officers in m a n - agem en t p osition s to m an age/ safegu ard th e Pilbara Coast, in ou r exp erien ce an d from ou r in terview s (Brocx, 2008), are ill-read as to th e global con text of th e Western Au stralian coast an d d o n ot keep u p w ith th e p u blish ed w ork, d o n ot u n d erstan d it, or d o n ot kn ow h ow to u se it for ration al d evelop m en t – for in stan ce, regu latory au th ority officers w ill focu s on p rod u ctivity of m an groves bu t w ill m iss th e h olistic p ictu re th at th e Pilbara Coast rep r e- sen ts. Takin g th is a step fu rth er - gen erally h av- in g n ever ven tu red ou tsid e of Western Au stral- ia in a research cap acity (travellin g u su ally is for tou rism ), in ou r exp erien ce sp an n in g d e c- ad es, m an y regu latory au th ority officers are n ot even aw are of th e u n iqu en ess of th e Pilbara Coast. As Brocx (2008) n oted , n on e of th e var i- ou s Govern m en t agen cies for con servation an d en viron m en t in Western Au stralia, th ou gh n eed in g to d eal w ith h olistic m atters in en v i- ron m en tal m an agem en t, h ave h ad a qu alified geologist or geoh eritage p ractition er on staff - th is situ ation still exists in 2017. Th u s, p u b- lish ed stu d ies th at ou gh t to h ave resu lted in global recogn ition of th e Pilbara Coast in term s of geoh eritage, or resu lted in p rop er coastal m an agem en t h ave n ot p rovid ed th e an ticip ated p ositive en viron m en tal ou tcom es. Th e m atter of th e effects of m in in g econ om ica l- ly, sociologically, p olitically an d , to som e ex- ten t, en viron m en tally in Western Au stralia h as been d iscu ssed an d d ebated by a n u m ber of au th ors (e.g., H arm an an d H ead , 1982; Jacobs, 1995). Recen tly, Bru eckn er et al. (2014) p rovid - ed a collection of articles on th e im p acts of con - tem p orary resou rce exp loitation in Western Au stralia as a basis for com p aratively assessin g th eir ben efits an d ou tcom es. An d w h ile th ere is d iscu ssion an d d ebate on th e social, econ om ic, an d p olitical ou tcom es of resou rce d evelo p - m en t th ere h as been rela tively less focu s on en - viron m en tal con sid eration s - th is is w ith in a con text th at Western Au stralia is view ed as a ‘qu arry’ for m in erals globally, an d h en ce a m a- jor in com e earn er. As su ch , en viron m en tal co n - cern s gen erally h ave low er p riority. Moreover, th e en viron m en tal focu s in d ebates is on biod i- versity n ot geoh eritage. Th e (geo)eth ics of su ch econ om ically -d riven exp loitation again st an eth os of th e In tern ation al ‘Declaration of th e Righ ts of th e Mem ory of th e Earth ’ as form u - lated by Martin i (1993) h as been d iscu ssed by Brocx (2008), Albrech t an d Ellis (2014), an d Brocx an d Sem en iu k (2015) w ith a su ggestion th at th ere be an altern ative eth os to th e cu rren t econ om ically -d riven , lan d scap e-d egrad in g, an d geoh eritage-d estroyin g p arad igm . On e a l- tern ative to resou rce exp loitation h as been th e su ggestion for u sin g th e m in eral-rich region s in Western Au stralia for th eir geological v alu es as a focu s for geotou rism (Pforr et al., 2014). We argu e th at w h ile geotou rism p rovid es an alte r- n ative base for th e econ om y an d , con com itan t- ly, can raise th e con sciou sn ess of th e p u blic to th e im p ortan ce of Geology an d Geoh eritage, th ere also are in trin sic valu es of Geology th at are w orth y of geocon servation in th eir ow n righ t w ith ou t an y con n otation s for econ om ic ben efit (e.g., th e globally-sign ifican t Arch aean zircon crystals of Jack H ills, Western Au stralia, or th e globally-u n iqu e m u lti-d im en sion al geo- logical featu res of Sh ark Bay, Western Au stra l- ia; cf. Brocx an d Sem en iu k, 2007 an d 2010). AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 5 Ind igenou s peoples have been in the coast al Pilbara for tens of thou sand s of years, bu t their im pact has been m inim al (e.g., shell m id d ens at- testing to life styles and d iet, and rock art cele- brating their life w ith natu re). In contrast, the a r- rival of Eu rop ean colonists and ind u strialists m arked the beginning of m ajor environm ental im pacts. And ed u cation seem s to have m ad e lit- tle d ifference to app reciating geoheritage and bio- logical aspects of the Pilbara Coast: m ost geolo- gists, ecologists in ind u strial em ploym ent, and the range of engineers seem not to have been tou ched by the u niqu eness and beau ty of the Pilbara Coast and have becom e p arty to the in- d u strial exploitation and d estru ction of this sp e- cial coastal environm ent. In term s of archaeology, ports and ind u strial d evelop m ents in the coastal region also have m ajor im p acts on ind igenou s heritage. They particu larly have had im p act on internationally significant ancient rock engrav- ings (petroglyp hs) and archaeological sites (habi- tation, artefacts, m id d ens) (H arrison, 2009; McDonald and Veth, 2009; Mu lvaney, 2015). For instance, the petroglyp hs on Bu rru p Peninsu la (in the Dam pier region; for location see Fig. 2) are consid ered to be one of the m ost significant ar- chaeological sites in the w orld (Donald son, 2011; Mu lvaney, 2011; Black et al., 2017), how ever, the p roxim ity of coastal ind u stry either contribu ted to their d egrad ation (Black et al., 2017) or to their d irect d estru ction (Brocx, 2008). These m atters of the im p act of ports and ind u stry on coastal ind ig- enou s heritage, thou gh very im portan t, are ou t- sid e the scope of this p aper. Figure 2: M ain locations of iron ore mines (some locations represent amalgamations of a series of relatively closed- spaced nearby sites) and the generalized pathways by which ore is delivered to the coast; also shown are locations of the ports and their export commodities. Location of the main sites for mining of Cu, M n, and Cr, and the location of solar salt operations also are shown. The main ports are: Onslow, Cape Preston, Dampier, Burrup Peninsula, Cape Lambert, and Port Hedland. Details of solar salt operations are presented in Brocx and Semeniuk (2015). AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 6 Given th e backgrou n d in form ation above, th is con tribu tion exam in es p orts alon g th e Pilbara Coast, sh ow in g th at th ey are p laced w ith little regard to su rrou n d in g n atu ral valu es, w ith con sequ en t im p acts on th is Coast in term s of geoh eritage an d biological valu es in a lack of ap p lication of geoeth ics in best p ractices m a n - agem en t. As Pep p olon i an d Di Cap u a (2015a) p oin t ou t, geoscien tists an d geo-en gin eers sh ou ld carry social an d eth ical r esp on sibilities tow ard s society an d th e p lan et, p articu larly (in ou r view ) in th e con serv ation of geological h e r- itage an d geod iversity - th e case of th e in d u s- trialization of th e Pilbara Coast tran sgresses th is eth os. Th is p ap er d escribes: th e m in eral- rich Pilbara h in terlan d an d n eed for p orts for exp ortin g ores/ m in erals; th e typ es of location s for p orts - p aram eters for selection ; an d im - p acts of p orts an d loss of geoh eritage valu es. 2. THE MIN ERAL-RICH PILBARA HIN TERLAN D AN D THE N EED FOR PORTS The Pilbara hinterland is m ineral-rich. It consists of several geological provinces (H ickm an, 1983; Geological Su rvey of Western Au stralia, 1990): 1. Arch aean Pilbara Craton (gran itoid s an d fold ed green ston es); 2. Proterozoic sequ en ces of volcan ic rocks, iron ston es, ch erts, an d sh ale; an d 3. Proterozoic sequ en ces of sh ale, d olom ites, an d ch erts. Iron m in erals, as h em atite, goe- th ite, an d m agn etite com p rise th e d om in an t ores in th e Pilbara region occu rrin g as la y- ered iron ston es in th e Arch aean an d Prot e- rozoic sequ en ces, or a m esa -cap p in g Ter- tiary goeth ite. They occu r at a range of localities in the region (Fig. 2). In ad d ition, the Pilbara hinterland has been m ined for ores of cop p er, chrom iu m , and m anganese and , locally, gold , lead , zinc, and sil- ver (Geological Su rvey of Western Au stralia, 1990). 3. LOCATION S FOR PORT D EVELOPMEN T, AN D PARAMETERS FOR SELECTION To exp ort ores from Western Au stralia, p orts h ave been establish ed an d selected on en g i- n eerin g an d econ om ic bases of coastal p roxim i- ty an d bath ym etry in sp ite of oth er in form ation available to gu id e m an agem en t an d w ise u se of coastal zon es. Th e m ain p orts alon g th e Pilbara Coast are: On slow , Cap e Preston , Dam p ier, Bu rru p Pen in su la, Cap e Lam bert, an d Port H ed lan d . Th e old est p ort is Dam p ier exp ortin g Fe ore sin ce 1963. In term s of size a n d age, Port H ed lan d is th e largest an d th e secon d old est p ort in th e Pilbara region , com m en cin g exp or t- in g Fe ores in 1966, origin ally from Sh ay Gap an d Mou n t N ew m an ; tod ay it h an d les ores of Fe, Cr, Mn , an d Cu , an d solar salt. Cap e La m - bert com m en ced exp ortin g Fe ore in 1972. Th e variou s p orts servicin g th e oil/ gas in d u stry on th e Bu rru p Pen in su la w ere establish ed in th e 1980s. Th e m ost recen t p ort con stru ction w as at Cap e Preston in 2010. Wh ile Port H ed lan d , Dam p ier, an d Cap e Lam bert h ave been exp or t- in g ores sin ce th e 1960s, m ore recen tly, Fe ore h as been m in ed at Mard ie an d Roy H ill, an d oth er location s exten d ed from an d n ear old er m in e sites (e.g., Maran d oo, Brockm an , Ch a n - n ar) (Fig. 2), an d n ew ly exp loited Fe ores h ave been exp orted from r ecen tly d evelop ed facili- ties (e.g., Cap e Preston ) or from existin g e x- p an d ed old er p orts. Ports requ ire: 1. som e p roxim ity to a m in e site; 2. existin g sh eltered in let, or op p ort u n ity to bu ild load in g jetties; 3. n atu ral d eep en tran ce ch an n el (steep sh ores an d steep n ear -sh ore bath ym etry are id eal), or on e th at can be read ily d red ged ; Preca m - brian rock arch ip elagos are best; 4. stable terrain lan d w ard of th e jetty or p ort for in frastru ctu res/ facilities (regu larly - flood ed d elta p lain s w ou ld n ot qu alify, m o- bile d u n es m igh t n ot qu alify, bu t Precam - brian rock rid ges are id eal). Th u s, som e terrain s alon g th e Coast h ave n ot been selected as p orts. Id eal terrain for p ort con stru ction is Precam brian rock (e.g., Dam p i- er, Cap e Lam bert, Cap e Preston ) or Pleistocen e lim eston e (e.g., Port H ed lan d ). On ce a site is selected for a p ort, th e coast an d im m ed iate h in terlan d m ay requ ire m od ification to m axim - ize its u se for p ort facilities. With th ese m od ifi- cation s arrive th e p roblem s of alterin g ge o- m orp h ic an d geological featu res an d p ossible AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 7 d estru ction of featu res of geoh eritage sign ifi- can ce. Wh ere a p ort h as been d evelop ed , th ere are tw o p attern s to its h istory. If it is State - op erated (su ch as Port H ed lan d ), th ere can be fu rth er p ort exp an sion as ad d ition al in lan d m in in g in terests m ay u tilize existin g p orts. Th e State-op erated p orts th en exp an d to becom e m u lti-taskin g, exp ortin g w h atever com m od ity is brou gh t to th e coast. If th e p ort is vested in a m in in g com p an y, th ere is n o sh a rin g or leasin g of facilities an d each com p an y establish es its ow n p ort of d isp atch . 4. IMPACTS OF EXISTIN G PORTS AN D LOSS OF GEOHERITAGE VALUES The im pacts of the existing p orts on terrain and the loss of geoheritage valu es are m anifold and range from the large scale (w here there is level- ling of terrain at the coast, rem oval of gravel from coastal allu vial fans, and qu arrying of coastal d u ne sand ) to the sm all scale (w ith d estru ction of innu m erable u niqu e and special geological fea- tu res, d iagenetic featu res, and arid -zone-specific m icro-geom orp hic featu res). The larger scale im - p acts of the variou s ports and ind u stries on the geoheritage valu es of the Pilbara Coast are listed below and d escribed in m ore d etail by V & C Se- m eniu k Research Grou p (1996) and Brocx and Sem eniu k (2015), the latter d iscu ssing the geoeth- ical im p lications of loss of geoheritage valu es as- sociated w ith solar salt p rod u ction. In the context that the Pilbara Coast is globally u niqu e, loss of these sites/ featu res of geoheritage significance is of som e consequ ence (assessed u sing Brocx and Sem eniu k, 2007):  On slow : barrier d u n e m od ification ;  Cap e Preston : d estru ction of th e m ost sou th erly exp ression of arch ip elago/ ria sh ores an d a sp ecific ran ge of rock typ es at th e coast; th is w as an in tern ation ally sign ifi- can t site;  Dam p ier an d Bu rru p Pen in su la: m ajor m od ification of arch ip elago/ ria sh ores an d islan d s; th is w as a in tern ation ally sign ifi- can t site an d is th e cen tral location of th ree su ch sh ores alon g th e Coast; Figure 3: A nnotated aerial photograph showing range of industrial impacts in the Port Hedland area, a limestone bar- rier coastal setting. AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 8  Cap e Lam bert: m ajor m od ification of arch i- p elago/ ria sh ores an d d u n e coast; th is w as an in tern ation ally sign ifican t site an d th e n orth ern location of on ly th ree su ch sh ores alon g th e Pilbara Coast;  Port H ed lan d : m ajor m od ification of (Pleis- tocen e) lim eston e barrier rid ges an d loss of geom orp h ology of tid al-creek-d issected in - ter-rid ge m u d -filled sw ales, an d tid al flats (Fig. 3); to create th e p ort, large m u d -filled sw ales w ere excavated or in -filled to form fou n d ation s for in frastru ctu res, an d th e in - let ch an n el w as d red ged for sh ip access; at sm aller scales, m u ch Qu atern ary h istory an d stratigrap h y w as lost; th is w as an in - tern ation ally sign ifican t site an d a m ain lo- cation of lim eston e barriers alon g th e Coast. More d etails on th e im p act of in d u stry sp ecifi- cally on th e m an grove com p on en t of th e coast are p resen ted in Sem en iu k an d Cressw ell (2018). Wh ile th ere are a ran ge of exp ort com m od ities an d in d u strial activities associated w ith p orts, an exam p le of th e im p acts of a p ort on th e coast is p rovid ed by th e activities an d in frastru ctu res for Fe ore p rocessin g, refin in g, an d exp ort (V & C Sem en iu k Research Grou p , 1996) bu t th e sam e p rin cip les can be d escribed for solar salt p rod u ction an d oth er exp ort com m od ities. In th e Pilbara region , Fe ore is m in ed in in lan d qu arries, cru sh ed , an d tran sp orted to th e coast by rail for fu rth er p rocessin g (secon d ary an d tertiary cru sh in g) an d sh ip p in g; m in es an d p orts of d isp atch are sh ow n in Fig u re 2. Iron ore in d u stries in coastal areas h ave a lim ited ran ge of in frastru ctu res an d activities associa t- ed w ith th em an d th ey are relatively con tain ed system s; from m in e to p ort th ey are:  rail lin es rail yard s, car d u m p ers to receive ore from rail sy stem s;  cru sh ers;  con veyors;  p elletizin g p lan ts an d sin ter p lan ts;  rescreen in g p lan ts;  fu el an d oil storage tan ks, p ow er gen eration station s;  veh icles, veh icle storage sh ed s, veh icle an d m ach in ery w orksh op s, equ ip m en t stor age sh ed s;  w ater storage tan ks;  p ip e n etw orks for w ater an d fu el;  road s;  ad m in istration facilities, am en ities bu ild - in gs, accom m od ation areas;  ore stock p iles;  lagoon s/ p on d s (for coolin g w a ter, slu g catch ers, etc.);  jetties. Th ese in frastru ctu res h ave im p acted on th e coast, th ou gh n ot all are d evelop ed at th e on e coastal site (V & C Sem en iu k Research Grou p , 1996). The Fe ore ind u stries established on the Pilbara Coast have requ ired extensive m od ification of coastal land , w ith the typ e and d egree of m od ifi- cation d ep end ent on the setting. All su ch coastal sites have involved rail and road constru ction, coast alteration and d red ging for p orts, jetties and harbors, and d red ge spoil d isposal. Facilities sited on bed rock archip elago/ ria coasts, and areas of ru gged terrain involved terrain m od ification and land fill to level (flatten) the sites for stockp iles and infrastru ctu re. Those facilities on lim estone barriers requ ired constru ction of cau sew ays for rail an d road s (crossing high tid al flats), and tid al land m od ification (land fill throu gh d red ge sp oil d isposal) to create sites for infrastru ctu res. Barrier island s are not large enou gh to su p p ort infra- stru ctu res and so ad joining tid al land s w ere re- claim ed . 5. D ISCUSSION AN D CON CLUSION S Th e Pilbara Coast is sp ecial, in com p arison to oth er coasts in Au stralia an d Globally (Se- m en iu k, 1996), w ith d istin ctive coastal form s, geoch em ical p rod u cts an d stratigrap h y, all of w h ich reflect a Qu atern ary h istory of com p lex sed im en tation , arid ity, an d cyclon ic storm s. As a resu lt, th e Coast is d istin gu ish ed by a ran ge of featu res: con stru ction of arid -zon e d eltas, d elta d estru ction an d sed im en t r ed istribu tion , cyclon e-in d u ced erosion an d sed im en tation , m an grove ecology an d associated d ep osits, evolu tion of coastal grou n d w ater h yp ersalin ity, an d form ation of beach rock, h igh -tid al cru sts an d gyp su m p recip itates, am on gst oth ers. Th e Pilbara Coast th u s p r ovid es a globally im - p ortan t m od el, unparalleled elsewhere in the AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 9 world, for th e d evelop m en t of a ran ge of m eg- ascale lan d form s th rou gh to sm aller -scale ge- om orp h ic, sed im en tary, strat igrap h ic, an d d ia- gen etic p rod u cts d evelop ed w ith in an arid cli- m ate, p rovid in g for th e Earth Scien ces an im - p ortan t an d u n iqu e m od el of a rid zon e coastal sed im en tation , d iagen esis, an d stratigrap h ic evolu tion (Sem en iu k, 1996). Loss of geoheritage valu es and geod iversity along the Pilbara Coast d enies hu m anity the op p ortu n i- ty to learn of the globally im portant great stories of coastal history and geological prod u cts that this region has to offer or (w here alread y d e- stroyed ) had to offer. This is a factor that Bohle (2015) highlights by em phasizing the im p ortance of “selling” Earth sciences throu gh storylines to raise the consciou sness of the pu blic in regard s to the im p ortance of the geosciences in d aily life, bu t w e ad d the im portance of the geosciences to u n- d erstand ing Earth history, Earth d iversity, and u ltim ately biod iversity. Som e of th e in d u strial im p acts alon g th e Pilb a- ra Coast took p lace d u rin g th e 1960s to 1980s in ign oran ce of th e sign ifican ce of th is coast bu t recen t p orts at On slow an d Cap e Preston w ere con stru cted after th e p rin cip les an d con cep ts of geoh eritage an d biological con serv ation w ere establish ed . Moreover, th ere are in d u strial a c- tivities p resen tly bein g p lan n ed or exp an d ed w ith cu rren t kn ow led ge th at th e Pilbara Coast is a globally u n iqu e. For exam p le, p lan n in g for coastal in d u stries in th e Pilb ara Region is based on a rep ort by Dover Con su ltan ts (1995) w h ich ad vocates a sp ecial em p h asis on “m axim izin g th e n atu ral ad van tages of Western Au stralia ” by p rom otin g n ew coastal h eavy in d u stry ass o- ciated w ith d eep w ater p orts in clu d in g fu rth er d evelop m en t at Dam p ier, Karrath a an d Port H ed lan d . In ad d ition , th e Dep artm en t of Re- sou rces Develop m en t an d th e Dep artm en t of Min erals an d En ergy, actively p rom ote d eve l- op m en t of th e Pilbara th rou gh its Pilbara D e- velop m en t Com m ission , based on th e Pilbara 21 rep ort (Pilbara 21 Stu d y Grou p , 1992), as w ell as on stu d ies su ch as th e Basic Raw Mat e- rials Su rvey Karrath a (Martin ick, 1997), an d th e activities of Geological Su rvey of Western Au s- tralia (Ru d d u ck, 1999). Th ese govern m en t bo d - ies h ave d evelop m en t an d econ om ic grow th as an over-rid in g p arad igm , leavin g en viron m e n - tal m atters to th e En viron m en tal Protection A u - th ority (EPA). H ow ever, if th e EPA reco m - m en d s again st a given d ev elop m en t on en v i- ron m en tal grou n d s, th e h istorical tren d h as been to d rive d evelop m en t by Min isterial d eci- sion s an d u se of th e State Agreem en ts Act. Each State Agreem en t is n egotiated ad h oc to be th en ratified as an Act of Parliam en t to en a- ble th e p roject to p roceed ou tsid e m ost State law s, afford in g p rivileges an d en viron m en tal con cession s to facilitate d eve lop m en t (H illm an , 2006). Develop m en t h as ch an ged irreversibly th e ch aracter an d p oten tial of th e Pilbara (Kerr, 1979) w ith loss of m an y geoh eritage sites an d a cu ltu ral d islocation as a resu lt of u n p lan n ed exp loitation of m in eral resou rces in an en v i- ron m en tally u n iqu e region . Th is ou tcom e is th e p rod u ct of over forty years of ad h oc p lan n in g d ecision s an d resou rce exp loitation for sh ort- term econ om ic ben efit of th e d evelop m en t p artn ers, i.e., th e State Govern m en t an d th e d evelop ers, con trad ictin g Kerr's op tim istic p red iction of th e social an d econ om ic ben efits th at d evelop m en t w ou ld brin g. Clearly, w ith th e sp ecial n atu re of th e Pilbara Coast in term s of its rich geoh eritage an d th e typ e of econ om i- cally-d riven d evelop m en ts alread y u n d ertaken , th ere is a n eed for strategic p lan n in g an d p olicy d evelop m en t th at can balan ce th e con flictin g asp ects of geoh eritage, in d igen ou s cu ltu re, an d th e p u rsu it of w ealth by exp loitin g raw m ater i- als. To d ate, little h as been carried ou t in th is regard in term s of p olicy. Th is case stu d y of p ort d evelop m en t alon g th e Pilbara Coast h igh ligh ts th e con flictin g an d in - variably com p etin g valu es p resen t in th e u se of n atu ral coastal geoh eritage. Su bstan tial tracts of th e coast of th is an cien t lan d scap e h ave been an d con tin u e to be overp rin ted by resou rce d e- velop m en t based on govern m en t p olicies th at h ave n ot been p u blicly d ebated . Decision s h ave been an d con tin u e to be m ad e ad h oc, an d are fou n d ed on cap italist valu es. Du e to in d iffe r- en ce an d ign oran ce, or both , of th e n atu ral v a l- u es of th e Pilbara Coast, th ese d ecision s h ave resu lted in a loss or m od ification of tribal lan d s, loss of an cien t rock art sites, an d loss of areas rich in geoh eritage valu es. Th e Pilbara is m in eral rich an d as it is fu rth er exp loited for m in erals, it m ay be exp ected to see m ore p orts. A fu n d am en tal p h ilosop h y th at AN N ALS OF GEOPH YSICS, 60, FAST TRACK 7, 2017; DOI: 10.4401/ AG-7495 10 w ou ld be en viron m en t-frien d ly w ou ld be State-w id e p lan n in g th at lim its th e n u m ber of p orts in th e region , i.e., rath er th an h avin g a m u ltip licity of p orts, com m en su rate w ith every m in in g com p an y th at is floated , th ere n eed s to be p lan n in g su ch th at th ere is a cen tralized a p - p roach . An oth er im p ortan t asp ect to d iscu ss is th at Western Man , in Western Au stralia, sees th e n atu ral en viron m en t as a resou rce to exp loit or u tilise. Rath er th an th e Pilbara Coast bein g seen as a u n iqu e coastal “w ild ern ess”, it is view ed as “a Place for Man an d N atu re”, w ith clearin g of vegetation , levellin g of rocky terrain for bu ild in g sites, in stallin g tran sp ortable bu ild in g, d iggin g tren ch es for p ip es, brin gin g in p lastic ch airs, etc., w h ich em p h asizes th e id ea th at “Man is p art of N atu re” regard less th at Man brin gs in u n n atu ral an d artificial stru ctu res an d com p on en ts. Th is w e reject, an d view th at th e Pilbara Coast is a globally d istin ct en viron m en t m u ch of w h ich is w ild an d n atu - ral an d sh ou ld be left as a w ild ern ess. Th e p roblem s h igh ligh ted for th e Pilba ra Coast are sim ilar to th e p roblem s an d geoeth ics in - volved th at are cu rren tly bein g faced in eastern Au stralia, e.g., d evelop in g p orts for econ om - ic/ em p loym en t op p ortu n ities in th e r egion of th e Great Barrier Reef World H eritage area (UN ESCO, 2014). Bu t su ch p roblem s exten d beyon d Au stralia - th ey are p revalen t th rou g h - ou t th e World an d n eed ad d ressin g in p rin cip le to fin d “a w ay-ou t-of-th e-con u n d ru m ”. Su g- gestion s to h elp resolve su ch p roblem s in clu d e: brin gin g Geoh eritage in to th e co n sciou sn ess of con serv ation m an agers so th at it is ad d ressed in d evelop m en t p rop osals an d p lan s; creatin g an in ven tory of coastal featu res an d id en tifyin g th eir sign ifican ce (u sin g th e Geoh eritage Tool- kit of Brocx an d Sem en iu k, 2009); an d coastal zon es id en tified as of h igh sign ifican ce sh ou ld be treated as h igh geocon servation zon es (th e exten t th at Man in tru d es, or m an ages, or h as m u ltip le u se of th e oth er coastal zon es of lesser sign ifican ce sh ou ld be treated in a grad ed r e- sp on se). Geoeth ics, w ith an objective to p rotect th e Earth an d featu res of geology, as a n ew em ergin g en d eavor (as d iscu ssed by Pep p olon i an d Di Cap u a, 2015b), n eed s to be ad d ressed by regu latory an d coastal m an a gin g agen cies. REFEREN CES Albrecht G. and Ellis N . (2014). 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