Coasts: Gateway 1

Jordan Tan

What is a coastal environment?

A coast is the area where the land meets the sea

Factors affecting coastal environments

 Waves
o Generated when there is a transfer of energy from moving air to a
water surface and this helps shape coasts when the waves hit land
 Tides
o Mainly caused by the effects of the gravitational pull of the moon
and sun on the earth
o Produces a cycle of alternating low and high tide. During high tides,
waves reach parts of coasts that may not be subjected to wave
action at low tides. Hence, this erodes and transport more
sediments away from larger parts of the coasts.
 Currents
o Large-scale, continuous movements of water in seas and oceans
o Driven largely by prevailing winds which generally blow in one
direction
o Plays an important role in distributing sediments and regulating
temperatures
o Carry large amounts of energy and shape coasts through coastal
processes
 Geology
o Arrangement and composition of rock in an area
o Rock composition determines the hardness of rocks and their
resistance to erosion, which affects the rate of change along coasts
o Eg. Harder rocks like Granite will erode more slowly than harder
rocks like Limestone

Factors affecting wave energy

 Wind speed
The faster the wind blows, the greater the wave energy is
 Wind duration
The longer the wind blows, the larger the waves are
 Fetch
Definition: Distance where wind blows across the sea
The greater the fetch, the more energy the waves have
Wave creation

How do waves affect coastal areas?

Waves on the beach

 Swash
Water that rushes up to the beach, puts sediments on beach
 Backwash
Water that returns back to the sea, carries sediments away

Types of wave

 Constructive
Breaks far from shore with little energy
 Destructive
Breaks violently on shore with high energy

Factors Constructive Destructive

Energy Low energy High energy
Gradient Low Steep
Swash VS Backwash Swash more powerful Backwash more
than backwash powerful than swash
Wave frequency 6 to 8 per minute 10 to 14 per minute
Process Deposition process more Erosion process more
prominent prominent

Wave refraction

Coastal processes

 Coastal erosion
o Hydraulic action(Strong Pressure)
Waves strike against a rock surface -> Waves trap air which is
compressed by oncoming waves -> Exerts pressure -> Joints
weaken and the rocks shatter
o Abrasion(Rocks rubbing against coast)
As waves break, sediments carried by waves such as sand and
rocks are hurled against coast -> Sediments rub against cliff ->
Weakens surface -> Breaks down coasts/Undercut a cliff
o Attrition(Rocks hitting each other)
Rocks particles carried by waves rub against one another -> Break
down into small pieces -> Becomes smoother and rounded
o Solution
Seawater reacts with water-soluble mineral and dissolves them ->
Rocks eventually weaken and disintegrate
 Sediment transport
 o Sediments move up the beach at an angle and perpendicularly
down the beach. The results in a zig-zag movement along the
beach is known as beach drift
o Longshore current: Ocean currents that flow parallel to a coast
o Longshore drift: Combined effect of sediment movement by
longshore currents and beach drift
 Sediment deposition
o Sediments eroded from coast are transported away and deposited
elsewhere -> Wave energy decreases and the waves are unable to
carry these sediments -> Influences sediment depositions
o Smaller sediments near to sea, bigger sediments near to land

Features of coastal landforms

Cliffed coasts

 Cliffs and shore platforms

A steep and near-vertical rock face found along coasts
 Headlands and bays
Diagram

Depositional coasts

 Beaches
 Spits and tombolos