COASTS PROCESSES 1. PROFILE OF COAST The coast is the area lying between the land and the sea.

a. It includes the shore and the cliffs. The shore can be divided into three sections (refer to Figure 1): OFFSHORE - The submerged zone below the low tide shoreline FORESHORE Between the low tide and high tide shorelines BACKSHORE Stretches landward from the high tide shoreline to the highest water line

FIG.1 THE COASTS

2. AGENTS OF COASTAL CHANGES The coast is always changing. The three agents responsible for shaping the coastlines are Waves Sea currents Winds Winds are by far the most important agent as they not only generate waves and create sea currents, they also change the shape of coastlines

3. WAVE TERMINOLOGY When wind blows across the sea and the ocean, it causes the water surface to rise and fall. The rising and falling of the water surface is the waves (refer to figure 3)

FIG.3 Wave Terminology Given below are the parts of a wave Crest the highest part of a wave Trough the lowest part of a wave Wave height vertical distance between the crest and the trough Wave length distance between two consecutive crests or two consecutive troughs

4. WAVE ENERGY The energy of the waves depends on their sizes. Large waves have more energy than small waves The size of the wave is measured by its wave height. The size of the wave depends on: The speed of the wind. The greater the wind speed, the higher the wave. Thus, the higher the wave, the greater the wave energy. The fetch. It refers to the distance of open water over which the wind blows. Huge waves are developed where the fetch is great. (Refer to Figure 4). Therefore, the faster the speed of the wind and the longer the fetch, the larger and more powerful are the waves

FIG.4 THE FETCH

The swash carries sediment from the ocean and deposits it on the shore, thus building up a beach. On the other hand, backwash transports the sediment down a beach.