Geography Exam 3

Shoreline

component of the littoral zone refers to the point of contact between land and water

calcium carbonate

coral secretes _______ to form an organic rock home

Wave Regression

have energy focuses around headlands and tend to disperse energy

Flood Tide

high tide is also know as this

jetty

is a long, narrow structure that protects a coastline from the currents and tides

groin

is a rigid hydraulic structure built from an ocean shore (in coastal engineering) or from a bank (in rivers) that interrupts water flow and limits the movement of sediment

coral reefs

large, lithified formations of calcium carbonate formed from both living and skeletal coral colonies; they occupy a very specific ecologic zone; 10-55 meters depth; 2.7-4.0 salinity; between 18 and 29 degrees C; 30North-30South; animals living symbiotically with algae

Ebb tide

low tides is also know as this

Coral

made of animals living symbiotically with simple algae

example of a coastal wetland

mangrove swamp (tropical climate) brackish water and fish nurseries or saltwater marsh (warm to mild climate) functions: great productive natural ecosystem also act as a storm buffer

Barrier Island

poor sites for real estate development because they are unstable and often mobile and they can be overrun by storm surges

Wave Trains

produced by storm centers these are generated in regions far distant from from the shore where they may break

Temperature and salinity

within the mixing zone and thermocline, average ________ and ________ decrease with depth

Breaker

a wave whose height exceeds its vertical stability

what is gravitational attraction of the sun and moon

Cause water of the ocean to raise and lower at different parts of the earth

Barrier reef

Formed in enclosed lagoons

Fringing reef

Platforms for surrounding coral rock

Tombolo

a depositional coastal land form that connect an island or sea stack to the shoreline

Littoral Zone

a general term for the coastal area and shallow offshore environment

Rip Current

a relatively strong, narrow current flowing outward from the beach through the surf zone and presenting a hazard to swimmers

Spring Tide

a tide that occurs when constructive interference between lunar and solar bulges produces a large tidal range

Neap Tide

a tide that occurs when destructive interference between lunar and solar bulges produce a small tidal range

Wave of Transition

a type of wave that approaches the shoreline and enters shallower water, energy and water move forward causing the water to rise and cascade down from the wave crest as breaker

Terrace

an uplifted wave-cut platform

Cliff

another word for wave-cut

Sea Level

calculated based on average tidal levels recorded hourly at a given site over a period of many years

water

can be considered a universal solvent

Coast

extended inland from the high tide level to the first major landform change

Lagoon

shallow saltwater body cut off from the ocean by a bay barrier

Sea

smaller than an ocean and tends to be associated with land masses

Seawater

the chemical composition of _______ is affected by the atmosphere, marine organisms, minerals and ocean sediments

Swell

the name given to rounded waves