Coastal erosion

Constructive waves: not very tall, sea is calm, longer wavelength, individual waves spread far apart,
low frequency 7-10 per min, deposit material swash>backwash

Destructive waves: taller, high frequency 10-15 per min, most of erosion of coast, backwash>swash

Deposition is sea putting solid material from sea onto land on the coastline.

Destructive waves use 3 erosion processes: hydraulic power: force of wave breaks rock, abrasion:
material and rock being carried damage coastal rock, attrition: bedload collide w itself; erosion

Erosion = wearing away rock using movement. Sea build up energy and move quickly w big force
that makes erosion faster.

Solution = soluble rocks dissolved by water in river or sea (caco3 and chalk) carried along by them

Attrition = pieces of bedload hit against one another, so they break apart and become small and
more round.

Abrasion = pieces of rock hit against bed or banks

Hydraulic action = force of water hits against river or sea bed banks and causes rock to break off

Mass movement is when rocks and loose material shift down slopes when gravity overcomes force
supporting material. They cause rapid coastal retreat and are common when material saturated.

Slumps are when material moves down slope with rotation, rockfalls are when it breaks apart and
then rolls down slope, and slides are when it moves down in straight line

Solution = Soluble rocks dissolved and carried by water

Traction = large particles dragged across bed by current

Suspension = silt (sand clay etc) and sand particles are held in water and transported along with it.

Saltation = small sand and gravel particles bounce along bed, travel in direction of flow of water

Wave-cut platforms

Stage 1: destructive waves erode base of cliff, hydraulic action and abrasion wear away base of cliff
around high tide mark, erosion causes wave-cut notch to form.

Stage 2: continued erosion of wave cut notch causes rock above to become unstable and collapse

Stage 3: waves wash away debris and start making wave cut notch again

Stage 4: stages repeat again leaving behind wave cut platform which is a flat gently sloping ledge of
rock that extends out to sea from base of cliff
Sand dunes

Hills of sand created at back of beach. Wind blows deposited sand up beach. Wood, driftwood,
rubbish block wind which leads to hills of sand. They allow plant and vegetation to grow. More sand
building up. Older sand dunes are mature dunes, newer are embryo dunes.

Bar created when spit grow across bay lagoons are created behind bar (saltwater pool separated
from ocean)

Spits

Spits are piles of sand that create sheltered zones on coast. When coast changes direction at estuary
where river meets sea, longshore drift moves sediment across inlet. River doesn’t let longshore drift
completely join to coast on other side because river has energy to move the sediment. Often
marshland forming in sheltered zone.

Deposition creates beaches of sand or shingle between high and low water mark. High water mark is
highest on beach that sea level will rise to. If erosion on nearby coast is high then more deposition.

Sandy beaches very long, side, and flat because particles of sand vert small and easy to wash back
into ocean. Shingle beaches made when pebbles and shingle deposited on coast. They are big and
hard to wash back so they build up and make steep and short beach.

Protect coast

Gabions are wire cages full of rocks they absorb pressure and energy transferred by waves this
leads to less erosion but more corrosion.

Groynes fences that stick out 90 degrees to coast. Stop process of longshore drift by trapping
material. Create wide beaches that are better for protect coastline. It is cheap.

Ripraps absorb some of pressure and energy transferred by waves. Enormous waves can remove
it but it’s cheap.

Sea walls block waves, usually made of concrete last longer, can reflect wave power back to sea.
Protect promenades from flood and reduce coastal erosion. Expensive and have to be built all
along town coastline to protect it.

Revetments are cheaper seawall places against base of cliff made from wood or concrete look like
sloping ramp. Deflect wave energy and reduce undercutting. Need less maintenance. Look ugly
and expensive to install.

Offshore breakwater shelter beach from waves. Constructed with one end linked to shore or
position offshore from 100m to 300-600m from original shoreline. Constructed with rubble rocks
or concrete. Very effective they take all energy. Difficult and expensive, ruing beach effect of
waves lapping at shore, can be destroyed by storm waves

Tidal barrage = at estuaries big walls that can open and close. Effective at protecting. Very
expensive.

Beach reprofiling is changing sand and sediment to protect coast. Create wider beaches can slow
waves and reduce energy. It can damage wildlife.
Dune regeneration is improving and maintaining dunes. Nourishing or planting plants help resist
wind and absorb wave energy. Its expensive.

Beach nourishment is adding more sand to beach. Can be taken from groynes.

Corals

Small animals called polyps. Sack-like and have tentacles to sting predators around a mouth to
the sack. Caco3 to make exoskeleton. Use tentacles to feed at night. Algae live in it and provide
O2. Algae are coloured, polyps transparent.

Requirement to grow:

Clear water that allows sunlight. When boats churn water and lift sediment that’s not good. It
blocks sunlight. Water temp from 20-32 they can survive colder but not good. Algae need
sunlight. Symbiotic (mutually dependent) with coral. Abt 5-10m deep. Also 90 metres. Saltwater
they need salty.

Types

Fringing reefs: grow from shore/coastline or next to one. Very sensitive to human activity.
Bahamas has lots.

Barrier: linear (parallel to shore) separated by lagoon from shore. Great barrier reef in northeast
Australia is the largest. Also sensitive to human activity.

Atoll: often circular, surround deep lagoons, mid ocean, found in Pacific Ocean and Indian ocean
mostly. Coral starts to grow around volcanic island which forms fringing. It continues to expand
for hundred thousand of years, interior island starts to subside and fringing becomes barrier.
Eventually island subside beneath water and leaves ring of coral with lagoon (atoll)

Reefs contain more than 800,000 species of plant animal and fish. Some reefs close to million
years old. Coral bleaching issue. Algae provide colour to coral so when algae die it bad for
ecosystem and tourism.

Mangrove

Mangrove swamps found in tropical or subtropical locations. Give coastline protect from storm
wave and tsunami. About 80 varieties. 60 between low/high tide mark intertidal zone. Trap
sediment for land good place for fish to hide until they are adult. Provide shelter for wildlife.

Need to be on coastline in warm seas or river estuaries. Tropical subtropical or warm water over
19 degrees. Cannot tolerate sub-zero. They need stable temp. need muddy waters or soft, muddy
coastline to take root. Need calm conditions. Need tides to fluctuate. (bring new food and
remove waste) they need little competition. Live in saltwater cause otherwise they lose out to
stronger plants.

Useful for fishing (grey snapper, snook and red drum) protect coastal buildings and coastliens
from erosion from tsunami storms and hurricanes stabilise sediment as to not wash away, filter
water, reduce pollution levels good for tourism. LICs mangrove wood used for fuel, water
resistant for housing, furniture, boats etc. black mangrove use to make charcoal. Important for
ecotourism. Kayaking and snorkelling around them in florida is popular. Threatened species live
and feend on them. e.g. American alligator and green sea turtles and manatee in florida.

Mangroves removed to develop coastal region for tourism in LICs exposes coast to erosion
tropical storms greater effect. Impacts fishing, floods. Mangrove action project in India is saving
them. educates tourists in Kenya. Symbiotic with corals. Mangroves improve water quality and
provide stability. Remove pollutants. Fish from mangroves move to corals or adult life. Coral reefs
near mangroves have larger population. Barrier reefs and mangroves make protective barrier.
Reduces erosion.

Tropical storms very intense low pressure weather system. Form above tropical oceans and have
extreme rain and winds.

A storm's centre is the eye of the storm. Cool air descending from the eyewall creates the eye of the
storm, which can be 50km wide. In the eye, there is no rain and low pressure (and a warmer ground
temperature). The eyewall surrounds all sides of the eye of the storm. In the eyewall, hot air rises,
winds are very strong and there is a lot of rain. At the edges of storms, conditions are intermediate:
wind speeds, rain intensity and temperatures are moderate, and clouds are small and scattered.

Tropical storms form over water that is 26.5 oC or warmer and when there's a small difference in
wind speeds between the upper atmosphere and the lower atmosphere. The rotation of the
Earth causes the Coriolis effect, which makes tropical storms spin by deflecting winds.

These temperatures are favourable because they mean there's lots of warm, moist air to cause
extreme rain. Energy from warm water intensifies cyclones. Lots and lots of energy is released
when air evaporates, rises or cools. This increases the speed and energy of a storm.

The strength of a storm falls as they move further away from warm water (so when storms are
above land or above cooler parts of the ocean). This is called dissipation. Near the equator,
surface winds are mainly trade winds moving east. The trade winds and something called the
Coriolis Effect mean that tropical storms move from east to west. The source area for most
cyclones is between 5 o and 30o north and south because the water is below 26.5 oC further from
the equator. Most cyclones form when sea temperatures are warmest, which is June-November
in the northern hemisphere, and November-April in the southern hemisphere.