Geo Lab: Coastal Landscapes

tectonic activity

cooling lava can form land

beach nourishment

dumping new sand onto eroding beaches to restore them

wave cut bench

flat, wave-eroded surface

sea arch

arch formed by wave erosion when caves on opposite sides of a headland unite

seawall

barrier constructed to prevent waves from reaching the area behind the wall

sea stack

column of rock remaining after collapse of a sea arch

tidal range

difference in levels of ocean water at high tide & low tide

longshore drift

e movement of water and sediment down a beach caused by waves coming in to shore at an angle

headlands

eroded faster b/c they receive more wave energy from refraction

Wave-cut notch

hollow eroded by the impact of waves at foot of a cliff

emergent shoreline

land rises as sea level drops

submergent shoreline

land subsides as sea level rises

jetties

pair of structures extending into ocean at entrance to a harbor or river that are built for purpose of protection against storm waves & sediment deposition

Submergent Shoreline features

prominent bays, irregular coastlines, lagoons, islands, & marshes

weather & climate

responsible for continental glacial ice expansion & melting

shoreline materials

rocky, sandy, coral reef, mangrove forest, salt marsh, & seawall

emergent shoreline features

straight & bounded by steep cliff

erosional coasts

visible by wave erosion which move molecules in circular path

breaker zone

wave base intersect seafloor = waves lose symmetry

shoreline formation factors

weather, climate, tectonic activity, tidal range, & shoreline materials

longshore drift direction

where sediment is trapped behind jetty = on left of jetty if coming from left