The COAST

Coast

The coast, also known as the coastline or

seashore, is the area where land meets the
sea or ocean. Waves and winds along the
coast are both eroding rock and depositing
sediment on a continuous basis.
Tides

Tides are due to the gravitational attraction

of Moon. It causes the Earth to bulge toward
the moon. Tidal bulges result in rhythmic rise
and fall of ocean surface.
Beach

A beach is made of very small loose rock (sand)

that gathers at the shore of a body of water.
Beaches are created by waves or currents. The
sand comes from erosion of rocks both far away
from and near the water. Coral reefs are a major
source of sand
Beach Profile
Longshore Drift
Waves that hit the beach at an angle carry sand and
gravel up the beach face at an angle. When the water
washes back the sediment is carried straight back
down the beach face. Individual particles are moved
along the beach in a zig zag pattern. This is called
longshore drift.
Sea Level Rise

Sea level rise is caused primarily by two factors

related to global warming: the added water
from melting ice sheets and glaciers and the
expansion of seawater as it warms.
 MARINE AND
COASTAL PROCESSES
AND THEIR EFFECTS
Coastal Processes

• are unavoidable occurrences driven by nature and

amplified by human action.
• they cause damage to the shorelines
• occurs where waves break on a shore not only for
ocean/sea coasts but also ponds/lakes
Coastal Processes and their
Effects
1. Coastal Erosion– is the wearing away of the land by the
sea and is done by destructive waves.
Caused by:
a. Corrasion- when waves pick up beach
materials and hurl them at the base of a cliff.
b. Abrasion- happens when breaking waves containing
sediment fragments erode the shoreline, particularly headland.
It is also referred to as the sand paper effect.
c. Hydraulic Action- the effect of waves as they hit the cliff
faces, the air is compressed into cracks and is released as waves
rushes back seaward. The compressing and releasing of air as
waves presses cliff faces and rushes back to the sea will cause
cliff material break away.
c. Attrition- the process when waves bump rocks and pebbles
against each other leading to the eventual breaking of the
materials.
c. Corrosion/Solution- involves dissolution by weak acids such
as when the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is dissolved into
water turning it into a weak carbonic acid. The greater the
concentration, the slower the dissolution.
 2. Coastal Transportation (Sediment Movement Along Coasts)

• The movement of material in the sea and along the coast by waves. The
movement of material along the coast is called longshore drift.
• As wave crashes on the shore, the water pushes sediment up the beach
and then pulls it back down the beach as the water slides back down.

• If the waves do not come in

parallel to the beach, littoral
drift of sand occurs.
Although longshore drift is the main process of transportation the
material moves in four different ways. These are:

• Traction - large material is rolled along the sea floor.

• Saltation - beach material is bounced along the sea floor.

• Suspension - beach material is suspended and carried by the waves. .

• Solution - material is dissolved and carried by the water.

 3. Coastal Deposition

• Deposition is when eroded material is dropped by constructive

waves. It happens because wave have less energy. Deposition
creates a range of landforms.
• It occurs when waves enter areas of shallow water, sheltered
areas like bay, little or no wind, and there is sufficient supply of
sediments.
• Tombolo- land that connects the small island
from the mainland.
• Cuspate Foreland- land extension cause by the
longshore drift.
• Bar- land that separate a small body water from
the big body of water.
• Spit- land extension that is cause by the waves.
4. Coastal Submersion
Submersion is when the sediment is submersed under water and
eventually replaced back to its original location. this often takes
place during violent storms, when sand is dragged or pushed
underwater, and it tends to return back to the visible place (via
wave action) it had previously been when the seas have calmed
down. At its most extreme, submersion can temporarily submerse
an island, and create islands as well.
5. Saltwater Intrusion
Saltwater intrusion is a process, which occurs in most coastal aquifers. Under natural
conditions, the freshwater-seawater interface remains close to the coast as freshwater
moves towards the sea. Groundwater pumping near the shoreline can reduce the
freshwater flow towards the sea and lead to an inward flow of saltwater towards the
freshwater zones of the aquifer. In extreme cases, this can put freshwater reservoirs at
risk and also result in the abandonment of production wells.
THE END