COASTS

INTRODUCTION
Terms associated with the coast:

1. Coastline –the line where the land and sea meet.

2. Coast – A zone or strip of land extending from the coastline, which borders the sea, to where the land
rises inland.
3. Wave – an oscillatory movement of water caused by the friction of the wind along the surface of the
water.
4. Beach profile - Intersection of a beach's ground surface with a vertical plane perpendicular to the
shoreline.

ALL ABOUT WAVES

Characteristics
TYPES
WAVES
Destructive Constructive

Formation

Work of the waves

Characteristics of waves

Wave length – the distance between two successive waves

Wave height – the distance between the top (crest) and the lowest part (trough) of the wave.

Swash – The movement of the water as it undergoes a plunging action on the beach.

Backwash – The pull of the water back to the sea under the influence of gravity.

Crest - Top of the wave

Trough – lowest point of the wave

Wave formation

A wave is an oscillatory movement of water caused by the friction of the wind along the surface of the
water. The stretch of open water over which the wind blows is called the fetch. The energy of the wind
causes the water to form an undulating motion. Winds are the dominant influence on wind strength and
wind direction. The stronger the wind; the more powerful the wave.

Waves are formed by relative motion of water with relation to air (wind) or land. One layer moves faster
than the other (surface or bottom layer) which causes rotation within the liquid. As winds blow across
the surface of the sea (fetch), they pass their energy to water particles, causing them to move. As the
particles below are not moving this creates a circular motion (oscillatory) within the water, the top of
which we see as a wave. The faster the wind blows, the faster these waves get, and out at sea they
begin to merge together and create several larger waves, collectively referred to as a swell. As the swell
approaches the shore, the gradient of the beach causes the swell to rise vertically, creating steeper
waves. When this height increases, the wave reaches a point where it can no longer support itself, and
breaks. This is the point at which white foam is visible on the edge of the wave, and the optimum time
to catch a wave.

Types of waves

CONSTRUCTIVE WAVES DESTRUCTIVE WAVES

 Wave height < 1m  Wave height < 20 m

 Long wave length  Short wave length
 Swash carries more material than  Backwash carries more material than
backwash swash
 6-8 waves per minute  10-14 waves per minute
 Spilling breakers  Plunging breakers
 Creates a gently sloping beach profile  Creates steep beach profile
 Deposits and builds up coast  Erodes coast

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Work of the waves

Erosion Transportation and deposition

Longshore drift
Processes:
 Corrosion or abrasion
 Hydraulic action
 Attrition
 Solution

EROSION PROCESSES

1. Corrasion or abrasion: this involves rock fragments being hurled by waves towards the coasts. These
rock fragments which can be as huge as boulders are carried and thrown against the coastal wall, breaking
up the rocks into smaller fragments.

2. Hydraulic action: This refers to the action when the weight or force of the water itself erodes the
shoreline. The crashing waves against the coast repeatedly over a long time, ultimately weakens the
rock’s structure. Water also gets into the cracks and fissures, eroding rocks through compression.

3. Attrition: rock particles carried within waves also collide and rub against each other. These actions help
to smoothen the angular edges of individual fragments forming small and smooth pebbles.

4. Solution: soluble minerals such as calcium carbonate are dissolved and removed by sea water. This
leaves pores within the rocks and makes them more vulnerable to disintegration.

TRANSPORTATION PROCESSES

Longshore drift: This is the movement of materials along the coastline by the action of breaking waves
(swash and backwash), which generally approach the shoreline at an angle.
Transportation

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.