ARBAMINCH UNIVERSITY

INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
HYDRAULIC AND WATER RESOURCE ENGINEERING

ENGINEERING GEOLOGY

Geomorphologic works by sea

 GROUP MEMBERS
Name ID no
 Abdi shafi RAMIT/012/06
 Abraham lemma RAMIT/081/06
 Malkamu eyoel RAMIT/905/06
 Faeda sultan RAMIT/516/06
 Bereket mekonen RAMIT/270/06
 Kadija weli RAMIT/782/06
 Eyob titu RAMIT/512/06
 Ababaw tilahun RAMIT/037/06
 g/sadik g/medhn RAMIT/590/06

Abraham tadesa RAMIT/083/06

. Geomorphologic processes of ocean (sea)
 Sea is extension of the oceans towards to the land areas.
 The apparent calm seawater is affected by periodic disturbances
(rise and fall) called tides and irregular disturbances grouped as
waves.
 The land area adjoining the sea commonly referred as coast.
Seashore is a term given to that part of the land adjoining to the sea,
which lies between high water level and low water level.
 Sea waves are described as undulatory disturbances on the
surface seawater caused by strong rushing wind, earthquake where
water particles are moving in a circular pattern before coming to rest
again

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 Currents - These are layers or strips of seawater that are
actually pushed forward in a particular direction.
 Tide - is the periodic rise and fall of sea due to the pull
exerted by the sun and moon on the earth.
 The bulge of water thus produced moves round the earth as
the moon rotates.

There are three main processes at work in the sea. These

are erosion, transportation and deposition
.

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 Sea erosion
Erosion by seawater is accomplished in 3 ways
(1) Hydraulic action
(2) Abrasion
(3) Corrosion
 Some common features of sea erosion are
(1) Head lands and bays (2) Sea cliff (3) Plate form or wave
cut terrace
(1) Head lands and bays: If originally uniformly sloping
shore line is composed of material of unequal resistance, the
stronger rocks stand out as head lands, where as the softer and
fractured rocks are quickly eroded by the waves and the areas
are changed into bays.
(2) Sea cliff is seaward facing steep front of a moderately high
shoreline. It is the first stage of the work of waves on the shore
rocks.

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 (3) A wave cut terrace is a shallow water shelf slopes
gently seaward and carved out of the shore rocks by advancing
waves.
 These waves first cut a notch where they strike against the cliff
rocks.
 The notch is gradually deepened so much that a part of the
over hanging cliff becomes unsupported from below and falls.
 A plat form is thus created and which is also called a wave-cut
terrace.

Fig (3.6) sea cliff and wave-cut terrace. H.T.L = Higher tide level and
L.T.L = lower tide level. P = Plat form or wave cut terrace
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Fig: Sea cliff
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Erosion is destructive waves wearing away the coast. 
There are four main processes which cause coastal erosion. These
are corrosion/abrasion, hydraulic action, attrition and
corrosion/solution.
Corrosion/abrasion is when waves pick up beach material (e.g.
pebbles) and hurl them at the base of a cliff.
•When waves hit the base of a cliff air is compressed into cracks.
When the wave retreats the air rushes out of the gap. Often this
causes cliff material to break away. This process is known
as hydraulic action.
Attrition  is when waves cause rocks and pebbles to bump into
each other and break up.
Corrosion/solution is when certain types of cliff erode as a result
of weak acids in the sea.

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Fig: Head land and bay
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Transportation by sea
Transportation is the movement of material in the sea and
along the coast by waves. The movement of material along
the coast is called long shore drift.
Long shore Drift
Long shore drift is the movement of material along the shore
by wave action.

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 disolved and carried by the water.

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Long shore Drift
Long shore drift is the movement of material along the shore by
wave action.
•Long shore drift happens when waves moves towards the
coast at an angle. The swash (waves moving up the
beach) carries material up and along the beach.
• The backwash carries material back down the beach at
right angles. This is the result of gravity.
This process slowly moves material along the beach. 
Longshore drift provides a link between erosion and
deposition. Material in one place is eroded, transported
then deposited elsewhere. 

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Sediment Deposition At Sea

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 Deposition
Deposition is when eroded material is dropped by
constructive waves. It happens because wave have
less energy.
 Deposition creates a range of landforms. You can
find out more on the depositional landform geotropic. 

• Seas are generally regarded as the most important and extensive

sedimentation basins.
•Sea or ocean deposits are broadly classified into two. These are:
(1) Sallow water or Neritic deposits e.g. Beach, Spit, bar.
(2) Deep water or pelagic deposits. e.g. Coral reef

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 Sediments deposited in the deep seas are an important
component of global biogeochemical cycles and constitute valuable
archives of past environmental change.
 It is therefore crucial to understand how these sediments are
deposited.
 Under certain circumstances deep ocean flow may permit the
deposition of sediments whereas under other circumstances
deposition may be hindered or prevented altogether.
 To understand the mechanisms controlling sediment dynamics in
the deep sea, times and locations of sediment deposition and non-
deposition need to be identified.
 In this context, interactions between deep ocean flow and
seafloor elevations as well as depressions are expected to be
important controlling factors.

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 Deltas
O Once sediment meets stagnant water on a lake or the ocean,
it is deposited in the delta.

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 Historic Delta Plains
O A sea that meanders over a large area over thousands of
years can form large delta plains.

Port
Williams

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River-Dominated Delta

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Wave-Dominated Delta

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 Longshore Drift
The waves arrive on the Dungeness Spit at an angle,
which is indicative of the direction of the longshore
drift. This wave action picks up sediment and
transports it down current.

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 Sand Bars and Estuaries

Sandbar

Estuary

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Mudflat Estuaries

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Spits and Tombolos

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Barrier Islands

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Headlands and Sea Stacks

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