GEOGRAPHY

CSEC TOPICS 2022

By: JAEDON N. FORTUNE AND JKWAN DEBIQUE

COASTAL SYSTEMS

COASTAL ENVIRONMENT KEY TERMS

● The sea is an agent of erosion.
● Crest, the highest point on a wave
● Trough, lowest point of a wave
● Wave length, the horizontal distance from crest to crest or trough to trough
● Wave height, the vertical distance between a waves crest and its trough
● Wave Period, time in seconds between successive crests that pass a fixed point
● Wave frequency, the number of waves passing a fixed point OR stationary point in a
given amount of time.
● The coastline is where the land meets the sea,and the belt of land that borders the sea
is called the coast.
● Swell, the normally gentle, smooth and unbroken movement of regular waves out in the
ocean(far from shore)
● The shore , which is the area lying between high-tide and low-tide level.
● A wave is an undulating movement that passes through water.it is caused by the action
of the wind blowing over the sea.
● The stretch of open water over which the wind blows constantly and in the same
direction is called the fetch.
● The top of the wave is the crest when the wave breaks, and the upper part of the wave
moves forward onto the beach,this is called the plunge.
● The uprush of water at an angle to the beach that brings in materials such as sand is
called the swash.
● The downward movement of water, under gravity from the beach is called backwash.

WINDS AND WAVES IN THE CARIBBEAN

● Prevailing winds(most common) are the trade winds which blow from north-east

● East-facing coastlines(Windward) tend to be affected by high energy waves. Erosion

takes place on these coast due to the powerful waves

● West-facing coastlines(Leeward) are sheltered from the trade winds and experience
less powerful waves. Deposition takes place forming wide sandy beaches.
WAVES PROCESSES

Constructive Waves Destructive Waves

Long wavelength Short wavelength

Short wave height Tall wave height

Spills over when breaking Plunges over when breaking

Commonly on gentle sloping coast Commonly on steep coastal slope

Deposits and builds up coast Erodes coast

Wave frequency low Wave frequency is high

Erosional features Depositional features

cliff Beaches

notch Splits

Wave-cut platform Tombolons

Blow holes/geo Bars

headlands Mudflats

Bays

Caves

Arches

Stacks

Stumps
FACTORS AFFECTING MARINE EROSION

1. Rock Hardness(type of rock)

- less resistant rock will erode faster.

2. Rock Structure(joints or cracks / layers of strata)

- Rocks with more lines of weaknesses will erode faster.

3. Rock angle
- Rocks that dip towards the sea produce gently sloping cliffs
- Rocks that dip away from the coast produce steep faces.

4. Wave Energy
- Big waves have more energy to erode the coasts.
- Longer fetch will produce bigger and more powerful waves.
- Large waves have stronger backwash than swash.

EROSIONAL PROCESSES OF WAVES

● Hydraulic action - refers to the power of water. The crashing of the waves,
together with its weight and force, against the coast repeatedly over a period of
time weakens the rock structure.
● Corrosion(solution) - This is the chemical reaction of the sea on limestone and
chalk coastlines. Soluble minerals such as calcium carbonate are dissolved and
removed by the sea water, hence this leaves pores/cracks within the rocks and
makes them more vulnerable to fragmentation.
● Attrition - Erosion due to rock particles carried by the waves, colliding and
rubbing against each other.
● Abrasion (corrasion) - this involves the rock fragments being carried by the
waves towards the coasts and the fragments are thrown against the coast by the
power of the waves
● Cavitation - this occurs when water from breaking waves enters joints in
between rocks which traps and compresses the air, and this compressed air
exerts pressure on the cracks and joints. When the water flows back out to sea
the air expands putting more pressure.
Destructive waves- These are plunging breakers, where the crest of the wave curls
forward over a large air pocket and then vertically downwards.These erode the
beach.The backwash drags more material down the beach than the swash has carried
up.These waves generally have a steep profile,a short wavelength, and a frequency, with
ten to fourteen waves per minute.

Constructive waves-These are spilling breakers, which fall forwards as they break. The
front of the wave is not too steep and the wavelength is long. A mass of foaming surf
rushes up the beach and then flows back again.These waves build the beach up.The
swash carries more material than the backwash.Breakers formed by long-distance swell
are usually constructive.There may be six to eight waves per minute.

Windward and Leeward coasts- Marine erosion is most powerful on high-energy

coasts,which are exposed to the full force of the waves.On the windward side of most
islands in the eastern Caribbean, there are rough conditions and exposed high-energy
coasts.
Leeward- on the calmer, low-energy coasts of the leeward side, waves are less
powerful,and erosion is slower.

How waves erode-Waves are powerful agents of erosion. In the Caribbean, hurricane
waves may reach eight meters high, tearing down well-built coastal structures; and storm
waves may be equally powerful in other climates. At Wick in Scotland, a block weighing
2600 tonnes was removed from the harbor breakwater during a storm; and at Cherboung
in France, another storm threw rocks weighing more than three tonnes over an
eight-meter-high wall.

EROSIONAL FEATURES

If resistant rocks are flanked by softer rocks, a headland may form. Erosion of softer
rock, flanked by rock that is more resistant,may lead to small, circular coves.

● Coves may eventually join together to form a broad bay.

● A cliff is a high,steep rock face, often overlooking the sea and caused by wave
erosion of the upland coast.
● A cape is a large area of land that projects into the sea.
● A headland or promontory is a smaller projection of land overlooking the sea.
● A cove is a small circular inlet of the sea.
● A bay is a wide curved inlet of the sea.
● A beach a narrow strip of land separating a body of water from inland
areas
HEADLANDS AND BAYS

Wave-cut platform- A coastal rock platform worn smooth by wave erosion. These form when
cliffs are slowly eroded and the line of cliffs retreats inland.Found in front of cliffs shorelines.
Canes are formed when waves attack points of headland.

Wave-cut notch- Repeated erosion( hydraulic action and corrosion) at the foot of the cliff.
Wave-cut notch becomes enlarged, creating an overhang of rock above it.

A headland is formed when alternating bands of resistant and less resistant rocks erode at
different rates(less resistant rock is eroded faster) causing the more resistant rocks to stand out
from the coast with an often steep cliff.
-The less resistant rock will erode faster and form a bay.

A bay is a broad and curved coastal inlet with headlands on either side formed as a result of
softer rock being easily eroded by wave action and retreating inlet.
Wave Refraction increases headland formation. As waves approach the coast, their passage is
obstructed by a headland and it tends to turn in towards the headland. This means the headland
is getting a higher percentage of wave action and hence wave erosion than the rest of the
shore.
CAVES, ARCHES, STACKS AND STUMPS

● Caves - A cave is a natural chamber formed by the constant coastal erosion of a

headland. As headlands are attacked by the waves on either side they go through a
series of phases. Notches may be created first, then through the process of abrasion
and hydraulic action, these notches or fissures and joints are gradually enlarged and
develop into caverns and caves.

● Arches - A tunnel formed by constant erosion on both sides of a narrow headland. If

caves are formed on both sides of a narrow headland eventually as a result of constant
erosion, a tunnel forms right through the rock forming an arch.

● Stacks or Pinnacle - Isolated pillars of rocks, standing up in the sea which have
become detached from the shore. Gradually the arch is enlarged by erosion at the base
and weathering processes acting on the roof, the roof(arch) eventually collapses leaving
the seaward part of the headland as an isolated stack.

● Stumps - The remnants of an eroded stack. Overtime, the stack is eroded and it is often
submerged during high tide and exposed during low tide.

● A gloup - a hole worn by the waves along a line of weakness in the rock at the top of a
sea cave (Example: northeast coast of ST Lucy in Barbados).
The process by which beach deposits are moved along the coast by the swash and backwash is
called longshore Drift, causing the removal of materials.
- Longshore Drift is the zigzag movement of sediment along the beach caused by the
waves approaching the beach at an angle.

Methods of preventing coastal erosion are:

A groynes is a concrete wall or a row of wooden pillars,built at right angles to the beach, to
slow the movement of the sand and to prevent coastal erosion.

A seawall is a structure made of concrete, masonry or sheet piles, built parallel to the shore at
the transition between the beach and the mainland or dune, to protect the inland area against
wave action and prevent coastal erosion.

Revetments are sloping structures built on embankments or shorelines, along the base of cliffs,
or in front of sea walls to absorb and dissipate the energy of waves in order to reduce coastal
erosion.

LANDFORMS OF COASTAL DEPOSITION

Deposition of sediment occurs when the velocity ( speed of flow) of the water is reduced and
the sediment can no longer be carried or moved by the sea.This occurs most commonly in
sheltered areas like bays.

Sediment Transportation:This Is the movement of sediment in the sea and up along the beach
and coastline. There are 4 main types of coastal transportation: 1. Traction - sediment rolling
along seabed 2. Dissolved load - sediment dissolved in seawater 3. Saltation - sediment
bounces along seabed 4. Suspension - sediment is carried by the seawater

A Spit or Sandspit - is a long/ narrow ribbon of sand, shingle or pebbles that ends in the sea.
For example the Palisadoes in Jamaica(from material transported by Longshore drift).

A Bar- is an accumulation of marine sediment formed in the sea by waves.Typically, a bar

extends across a bay where it forms a sandbar that encloses a lagoon.

A mudflat - Is a low-lying coastal strip, exposed at low tide and covered at high tide.Mangrove
swamps develop on mudflats

A beach - is a deposit of sand and/or pebbles found at the coast

A Tombolos - a spit that grows away from the shore and becomes attached to an island
(example: Scotts Head tombolo in Dominica or the Palisadoes tombolo south of Kingston,
Jamaica)
WEATHERING

Weathering is the gradual breakdown or decay of rocks in situ (without being moved) by
physical and chemical means associated with the local weather. As the name suggests it
usually results from the weather such as rainfall and changes in temperature.

Denudation - The wearing down of major landforms( the lowering of the surface of the earth) by
the processes of erosion, weathering and mass movement or mass wasting.

When rocks have been weakened they are easily picked up and carried away by wind water
and ice this is called erosion.

Scree is the rock waste or debris that is deposited at the base of a mountain or slope.

PHYSICAL WEATHERING

This involves the breakdown of rocks that are exposed to the elements of weather.
- Types of physical weathering: Frost Action, Exfoliation, Thermal expansion, Pressure
release

Frost Action:
● mostly happens in cold climates
● Occurs when water seeps through joints and cracks or rock during the day and at night
because of the cold temperature the water freezes and expands causing the rock to
break apart.
● The debris that falls is angular in shape, sharp and jagged, they fall at the foot of slope
forming angular scree or talus slopes.

Exfoliation:
● When curved rock shells or layers are separated or flaked off in concentric
layers.(example: granite)

Thermal Expansion:
● Common in dry/semi-dry regions such as deserts and tropics
● Rocks expand due to the high temperatures during the day and then contract due to the
low temperatures at night causing the rock to be broken up into smaller fragments.
● The constant expansion and contraction of rocks induces strain on the rock causing it to
be broken up grain by grain by the process of granular disintegration.
Pressure Release:
● Rocks deep underground are compressed by the immense weight of the rocks on top of
them.
● When these overlying rocks are eroded,the pressure is released and the rocks below
expand upwards,rather as if they were breathing out.

CHEMICAL WEATHERING

This is where a chemical change causes the minerals in rocks to dissolve or decay.
- Types of chemical weathering: Carbonation/solution, Oxidation,Hydrolysis

Carbonation/solution:
● Solution weathering is the dissolving of certain soluble minerals found in rocks
● Process of carbonation is as follows:
● Rain water(H2O) dissolves the CO2 in the atmosphere to create a dilute carbonic acid
(slightly acidic rain)
● The carbonic acid converts the calcium carbonate in limestone into calcium bicarbonate
● Rainwater then dissolves the calcium bicarbonate and washes it away

Oxidation:
● Oxygen when dissolved in rainwater reacts with rock materials such as iron to form
chemical compounds such as oxides and hydroxides which disintegrate rocks
● Iron oxides when exposed to air and moisture vary in colour, from red to yellow to brown.
● Minerals in rocks that are oxidised expand in volume resulting in the disintegration of the
original minerals.

Hydrolysis
● involves chemical change due to reaction with water.
● When mildly acidic rainwater falls on granite, a common igneous rock, the mineral
feldspar reacts and turns into a white clay called (or china clay).
● This process weakens the granite,causing it to disintegrate.

Biotic/Biological/Organic weathering:

Physical:
● Plant roots wedge through rocks, creating and expanding cracks
● Earthworms, termites, moles etc. burrow through the soil and rocks.

Chemical:
● When plants and animals die or excrete waste they release chemicals that interact with
the rock chemicals breaking it down.
Economic Activities(Primary, Secondary and Tertiary)

- Industry can be said to be the people or companies engaged in a particular kind of

commercial enterprise; the way that products and services are created.

Economic activity- is the way that individuals and countries produce, distribute or consume
products or services. Economic activity provides the money needed for governments to spend
on services such as health and education, water and electricity as well as for building
roads, hospitals and schools(infrastructure).

- Economic development in the Caribbean

● The capital city is usually the single prosperous core

while the hinterlands are less prosperous
● Large and successful industries tend to be located in
and around the capital
● The rural areas will have fewer and less successful or
even declining industries
● Governments have set up industrial estates in poorer
areas to reduce the income disparity
● Disparities in economic wealth between Caribbean
countries have made integration difficult
● Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) is a
small group formed within the CARICOM to help with
the economic development of member states.

- Measuring economic development

1. Gross Domestic Product (GDP)

- Total market value of goods and services generated within a
country over a given period

2. Gross National Product (GNP)

- Total market value of goods and services generated by a
country’s citizens, both domestically and overseas, during a
given period
There are four MAJOR types of economic activity:

1. Primary sector(raw materials):

This involves the extraction of raw materials from the earth, for example farming,
quarrying and fishing.

2. Secondary sector(manufacturing):
This involves making (manufacturing) products using raw materials from the primary
sector. Examples of secondary industries include food processing e.g. taking sugar cane
and processing it to make sugar. Clothes made from cotton and cars made from steel
and other raw materials are also examples of secondary sector industries.
3. Tertiary Sector(services):
These are economic activities that provide a service to people.Example of workers in the
service sector includes teachers, shop workers,hotel staff,health care providers and the
police.
4. Quaternary sector(information and expertise):
(finance,trade,research and development,advertising,consultancy)- this sector involves
individuals who provide information and expertise for other to use.This may involve
training,consultancy and research and development. A lot of individuals working with
information technology are included in this sector.This is a relatively recent sector and is
really just a branch of the service (tertiary) sector.

FISHING IN THE CARIBBEAN (PRIMARY INDUSTRY)

- Fishing is an extractive or primary industry that provides a major source of food.

KEY POINTS:
● Factors that influence the location of the fishing industry are: 1. The coastlines:
provides harbours and bays from which fishing boats can operate/easy transport. 2.
Continental shelf and shallow banks: many fish feed off plankton which can only grow
in the presence of sunlight hence the best fishing grounds are located in shallow waters
(not exceeding 200 metres)
● The fishing industry is dependent largely upon boat-owners who hire a few people to
work for them and sell the fish locally. Large scale fishing is sometimes run on a
cooperative basis, the benefits of that are: 1. Providing more readily available loans to
their members to buy boats and other equipment 2. Seeking reliable markets and
satisfactory prices for the members’ catches
● Fishing is a source of livelihood for hundreds of people in the caribbean, the catch is
sometimes exported or sold locally
 ● Increasing fish production stimulates the industrial processing (secondary industry), fish
provides oils which are used in the manufacture of paint and fish meal which is used as
a food concentrate for livestock.
● Fishermen selling their catch to cooperatives regulates prices and allows a relatively
cheap source of food to the public overall creating a sustainable and stable market.
● Pelagic fishing is the fishing that targets surface swimmings species such as cod,
herring, carite and kingfish
● Demersal fishing targets species such as shark, shrimp and grouper that live in deeper
waters.

FISHING CHALLENGES:

1. Suitability of equipment - in the Caribbean, fishermen are ill-equipped in terms of both

their boats and their fishing equipment. This restricts their ability to locate and to exploit
the fish stocks that are available.
2. Processing and storage facilities and marketing and storage arrangements:
● Foreign markets such as the USA and Europe are unreliable and markets now
require new systems of monitoring and recording all aspects of fish production,
from catching the fish to unpacking them in the final destination.
● This causes difficulty for small producers to comply with these regulations as
there are few adequate processing and storage facilities.
● Fish is a perishable resource and there is much wastage of the product and its
by-products.
These regulations and maintenance of quality mean that Caribbean fishermen can
effectively be shut out of large markets
3. Destruction of fishing grounds - Careless fishing practices damage areas that fish rely
on breeding, spawning and maturing.
● Trawling is the practice of dragging nets across the sea-bed, sweeping up not
only the desired species but also everything else in their path. It is a MAJOR
threat to fish habitats and it is highly destructive to the biodiversity of coral
systems in the caribbean.
4. Over-exploitation and other fishing practices- The decline of certain types of fish and
other sea creatures is linked directly to over-exploitation.
 Fishing practices Process

Long drift nets Consists of gillnets that trap fish, including

unwanted species before they have a
chance to mature hence contributing to
fish stock depletion.

Seine nets Nets is laid in a circle around a school of

fish, the bottom of the net is then drawn
inwards to form a bag, then fish are
hauled in and pumped out of the net

Long lines Several kilometres long with thousands of

baited hooks that catch a wide variety of
sea-life and result in the quick depletion of
fish stocks

trawlers Stay out at sea for long periods catching

large volumes of fish and exploiting
dwindling resources.

5. Tourism - uncontrolled tourism is threatening key natural habitats:

● Poor methods of waste treatment and discharge of untreated sewage from
houses and hotels
● Coastal fish resources and mangrove swamps and other vegetation are being
destroyed

CONSERVATION AND SUSTAINABILITY

Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present

without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

● An increase in mesh net size

● A ban on import of monofilament or transparent net
● A closed season in certain areas during the period when fish come to spawn
● The creation of artificial reefs to act as nurseries for young fish
● Education of the population to discourage them from careless disposal of litter.
● Regulations to limit the minimum size at which fish from certain species can be landed
● All fishermen need to be educated to adopt responsible fishing practices and to
self-regulate their industry
● Trawlers and other similar destructive fishing methods need to be restricted
● The introduction of a quota system, with effective monitoring to ensure fishermen stick to
their quota
 ● Provision of better and adequate sewage disposal facilities to control and treat sewage
from residential areas
● Review and reinforce controls on toxic substances emitted into the sea
● Strict penalties to be imposed on fishermen who land protected species or undersized
fish
● Fish cages to be made of materials that will rust or decay in the sea

FORESTRY (PRIMARY INDUSTRY) IN GUYANA

-Factors that influence the location of the lumbering industry:

1. Types of trees and size of forest

● Commercially valuable trees in Guayana are Greenheart, mora, baromalli etc.
● 40% of the forests has been opened up for commercial exploitation
2. Demand for timber and forest products
● Us is the main market for plywood
● Southeast Asia has emerged as a new market
3. Labour Supply
● Most of the labourers are guyanese
● Forest industry employs 20,000 people
4. Accessibility
● Access to and from the main lumbering areas is via river
● The logs are thrown in the river and allowed to float downstream to the sawmills
5. Level of technology
● Small lumbering companies rely on simple tools like saws and axes
● Larger companies use higher-technology tools such as power saws, tractors and
mechanical skidders
6. Ownership
● The guyana government owns the forests

- Challenges for the forestry industry

1. Manpower
● The industry faces a shortage of skilled workers with adequate knowledge
● Training can be provided to upgrade the skills of the workers so that they can
handle more sophisticated tools
2. Technology
● Outdated technology is still being used by lumbering companies
● More advanced tools like tractors and power saws should be used to improve
efficiency and cost effectiveness
 3. Diseases
● Good forest management, regular spraying and research are needed to minimise
diseases
● But the government does not have the know-how or the funds to undertake these
measures
4. Over-exploitation
● With increasing global demand, logging is taking place more rapidly than the
trees can grow
● Good management practices such as replanting and using proper harvesting
techniques are essential to ensure the sustainability of this industry
5. Globalisation
● Globalisation has given Guyana an opportunity to be more
engaged in international trade and earn foreign exchange
through its forestry products
● But this must be balanced carefully against the need to
ensure proper management of the forests
6. Sustainability
● Steps must be taken to conserve and preserve the forest
resources
● Guyana still lacks the data necessary for forest management
● Research and development (R&D) could be carried out to
provide this data

FOOD PROCESSING (SECONDARY INDUSTRY)

Transformation of products from the primary industry into food for consumption. Methods
include canning, fermentation, dehydration, freezing and irradiation.

- Factors influencing the location of food processing industry:

1. Labour supply
● Most is local
● Employs upwards to 20,000 people
2. Accessibility
● Excellent road networks
● Well runned airports and seaports(for importation and exportation)
● Their ports are among the busiest allowing for ease and speed in exportation of
goods
 3. Level of technology:
● Increased levels of machinery use, research and testing, quality assurance
● Managed by skilled and well educated workers

4. Government policy:
● Ensure industry are located in appropriate locations
● Setting up industrial zones
● Focuses on help with branding
● Duty free ports- no duties on exported goods except for tobacco and alcohol.

- Factors endemic to Trinidad and Tobago:

1. Supply of raw materials

● readily available locally (about 40%)
● internationally (About 60%)
2. Labour force
● educated and skilled- approx. 10,000 employed
● Accessibility- easy transport links
3. Level of technology
● Ranges from simple to complex machinery
4. Government support
● Encourages trade
● Imposes tax on competing goods
● Fund programmes geared in food processing , food engineering

ADVANTAGES AND CHALLENGES OF FOOD PROCESSING INDUSTRY

Advantages Challenges

Source of income Loss of secured markets/preferential

treatment/prices and trade liberalisation

Helps reduce wastage of agricultural crops Increased competition

Food security which results in the reduction of Small domestic markets of individual
a country’s food import bill countries

Raw materials are easily available in the High cost/ capital needed for equipment and
Caribbean packaging materials

Readily available labour supply

TOURISM (TERTIARY INDUSTRY)

The tourism industry is the provision of services to people who travel to and stay in places away
from their place of residence for leisure purposes or otherwise.
- Generates income for a country through the sale of domestic goods and services to
tourists and the employment of its people in tourism-related businesses.

TOURISM IN THE CARIBBEAN

● Major contributor to GDP

● Accounts for more than 60% of the GDP in countries such as the Bahamas and
Jamaica.
● Earns 90% of the foreign exchange for some countries

- Physical factors influencing tourism industry in Jamaica

1. Climate
● Warm and sunny throughout the year
● Attracts people from cool temperature areas such as North America and Europe
● Tourists can enjoy the beaches all year round
2. Natural resources
● White sandy beaches
● Clear seas rich with marine life
● Beautiful scenery
● Lush vegetation
● Wide variety of flora and fauna
3. Proximity to markets
● Near to Canada, US and Europe, which are where the bulk of the tourist come
from
● Travel to jamaica is relatively cost-effective and time-efficient for these tourists

- Economic factors influencing tourism industry in Jamaica

1. Contribution to economy
● This industry is a major contributor to GDP
● A quarter of the country workforce is employed in the industry
● Tourism provides direct and indirect employment
 2. Labour supply
● Tourism is a labour intensive industry
● Workers are mainly locals
3. Availability of capital
● Capital is provided by foreign investors
4. Caribbean Single Market and Economy(CSME)
● CSME allows free movement of skilled labour among member countries
;[

TRENDS IN THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

● Increased affluence has given people in many countries

greater incentive to travel overseas
● Proximity to North America and Europe makes travel to
Jamaica relatively fast and cheap for tourists from these
markets
● Close cultural and political ties with the US and
European countries ensure a comfortable and familiar
environment for the tourists
● Improved access to information through the Internet has
generated greater interest in travel

CHALLENGES FOR THE TOURISM INDUSTRY

● Need to develop sustainable tourism to ensure that

future generations will be able to benefit from the
tourism resources
● Rising number of tourists visiting the natural attractions
has caused increased damage to the environment
● Caribbean Conference on Sustainable Tourism (STC)
was inaugurated in 1997 to promote sustainable
tourism

TOURISM- CRUISE SHIPS

● Cruise ship tourism is one of the fastest growing types of tourism in the industry
● Two major issues persist, social and impacts and environmental impacts

SOCIAL IMPACTS

- Positive
 ● Generates income for local economy
● Allows passengers to gain a greater understanding of the communities
● Spurs innovation in the community to meet tourist demands
- Negative
● Tourists usually dont spend that much money in these areas, money is mostly spent on
the ship
● Workers are usually underpaid
● Passengers are ignorant to the actual prosperity of these regions

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

● Roughly 70% of cruises are in “biodiversity hotspots” which are areas that have
significant biodiversity that are threatened by human habitation and interaction
● Cruise ships generate waste water in the form of black and grey water
● Ported ships can have a major impact on surrounding coral reefs
CORAL REEFS

KEYTERMS:
● Reef - any submerged protrusion from the sea bed
● Coral reef - a solid structure in the sea consisting mainly of various stony coral species,
along with many other marine fauna and flora that live in and contribute to the reef.
● Coral - known individually as polyps, they are tiny and live in large colonies that absorb
and secrete calcium carbonate to create massive limestone structures
● Coral bleaching - when the water is too warm it can cause the coral to become
completely white
● Zooxanthellae - single celled plants that live within the polyp and help it produce its
calcium carbonate skeleton
● Lagoon - a body of water separated from larger bodies of water by a natural barrier

TYPES OF REEFS:

1. Barrier reef:
Barrier reefs are linear coral reefs growing offshore, and generally creating a barrier to
navigation.The most famous example is Australia’s Great Reef,which runs some 2,600km off
the east coast of Queensland.The largest barrier reef in the Caribbean (second largest in the
world) lies some 25km off the coast of Belize.
● A barrier reef probably begins life as a normal fringing reef.
● Any reef more than a mile offshore is considered to be a barrier reef
 2. Fringing Reefs:
Fringing reefs are shallow-water reefs that run roughly parallel to the coast.They form from the
gradual accumulation of coral over a long period of time in ideal environmental conditions. The
Andros reef in the Bahamas is the longest in the region. Storms,such as hurricanes,can
occasionally break up fringing reefs to leave behind isolated reefs rather than a single
continuous feature.
● Fringing reefs are similar to barrier reefs but are closer to the shore
● Barrier and fringing reefs are separated from the land by a shallow area of sea known as
lagoons

3. Patch Reefs:
Isolated mounds of corals that generally occur in clusters on shallow banks. There are many on
the Bahamas banks and shallow banks of the Turks and Caicos Islands, Cayman Islands and
the Virgin Islands.
 4. Atoll Reef:
A coral atoll is an isolated,almost circular,ring-shaped reef with a deep lagoon in its center. Coral
atolls are largely concentrated in the Pacific and Indian Oceans,for example the Maldives. Coral
atolls often form at submarine seamounts(extinct volcanoes) where the rim of the crater creates
the shallow water conditions necessary for coral growth. The Deep lagoon forms in the extinct
volcano’s crater,or caldera.

NOTE: The countries with the most reefs are those with the largest areas of shallow water such
as the Bahamas, Belize and Cuba.

Most coral polyps will only grow well in certain conditions:

● The temperature of the water should be between 21*C and 30*C. This is why there are
few coral reefs outside the tropics,or where there are cold sea currents.
● Coral may be killed where the water is too hot or undergo coral bleaching.
● Sunlight must be able to penetrate to where coral is growing. Coral grows only in
fairly shallow water.The exact depth depends on the clarity of the water.
● Coral grows where the water has the right amount of salt. Few reefs are near the
mouths of larger river
● Coral needs to grow in clean,well aerated water. Muddy water damages
coral,because it shuts out sunlight.

Factors needed for Coral Formation:

● Temperature - corals only live in the seawater that has an average temp of 18*C or
more.The ideal temperature is 23-25*C.
● Salinity - the right amount of salt is needed.Corals thrive best in the open sea away from
the freshwater
● Light - corals thrive in shallow water conditions because the algae on which they feed
require light to photosynthesise.
THE IMPORTANCE OF CORAL REEFS

Coastal protection: coral reefs act as buffer zones, providing vital shoreline protection from
storms and tsunami.
Beach development: the erosion of coral reefs creates the white sand that typically forms the
beaches of tropical coastlines.
Ecological benefits: coral reefs are extremely diverse ecosystems.One hectare of reef off
South East Asia was found to support over 2000 species of fish.Coral reefs are important
breeding grounds for fish, offering shelter and food.

MANGROVES

Mangrove wetlands or swamps are coastal ecosystems found in tropical and subtropical
regions.One of the largest Mangrove swamps in the world is on Florida’s south-west coast.

1. RED Mangroves - these are found closest to the sea and have their roots submerged at
high tide.They cope with high levels of salt.

2. BLACK/WHITE Mangroves - these are found further inland where conditions are
saltier.They do not have the extensive aerial root systems of the red mangroves.They
cope by excreting the excess salt onto their leaves.They can transfer oxygen directly to
the root.
WHY MANGROVE WETLANDS ARE IMPORTANT

Function:
● Coastal protection - the dense tangle of mangrove roots help to trap sediment.This
creates an effective coastal defense to hurricanes,storm surges and tsunamis. As sea
level rise due to global warming, mangroves will continue to grow and thrive, providing
lasting protection to coastal areas.if the mangroves are removed, the muddy sediment
quickly washes away leaving the coastline unprotected
● Ecological(biodiversity)importance - Mangroves swamps provide valuable habitats for
many species of animal and fish, which benefit from the calm,sheltered waters.These
ecosystems sustain billions of worms , protozoa,barnacles and oysters,which in turn feed
fish and shrimp.These then support wading birds,pelican,and the endangered crocodile.

Social-Economic-Importance
● Fuel: Firewood,charcoal,alcohol
● Medicine:Leaves from seeds
● Social Values:cultural,heritage,artistic
● Food and Drink: honey,oils,fish