GY Learnsmart Ch 15

Rank the following components of the littoral zone from farthest out to sea at the top and closest to land at the bottom.

1. Offshore 2. Foreshore 3. Inshore or swash zone 4. Backshore

Rank the following components of the littoral zone from furthest out to sea at the top and closest to land at the bottom.

1. Offshore 2. Inshore or swash zone 3. Foreshore 4. Backshore

Rank the four regimes of beach erosion by placing the one with the lowest threat of erosion at the top and at the one with the greatest threat at the bottom.

1. Swash regime 2. Collision regime 3. Overwash regime 4. Inundation regime

Order the systematic changes that occur in waves as they approach the shore, ending with the wave breaking at the bottom.

1. Water shears on the bottom when the depth is shallower than the wave base, as the waves approach the shore. 2. Waves slow down. 3. Wave crests bunch up and become steep (wave height increases and wavelength decreases). 4. Wave crests topple over, and the wave breaks in the surf zone.

Rank the following processes in order from top to bottom to describe the formation of a spit, at the top, followed by a baymouth bar, and finally a barrier island at the bottom.

1. Waves and longshore currents move sediment along the coast, building up a long, low mound of sediment. 2. A low mound of sediment lengthens in the direction of the prevailing longshore current, starting to cut across a bay. 3. A low mound of sediment becomes long enough that it cuts off a bay. 4. Sea level rises and submerged, low-lying sediment mounds are broken up into individual islands.

An emergent coastline's features commonly include which of the following? (Select all that apply.)

A wave-cut notch; Exposed coral reefs; A wave-cut platform

Match the image letter with the correct type of reef depicted.

A: Barrier reef B: Atoll C: Fringing reef

Match the image with its appropriate description, related to tide level.

A: High tide is shown, with the ocean at its highest point relative to land. B: Average sea level is shown, with an intermediate ocean height, occurring between high and low tide. C: Low tide is shown, with the ocean at its lowest level on a shoreline.

Match the letters on the image to the correct landform found in an idealized beach profile.

A: Longshore bar B: Berm C: Dune

Match the letter on the ocean wave diagram with the corresponding term.

A: Wave height B: Wavelength C: Depth of wave base = wavelength/2 D: Trough E: Crest

Where is the world's largest reef complex?

Along the northeastern flank of Australia

Why do initially straight water waves generally refract (bend) as they approach a shoreline?

As waves approach the shore, the segments closest to the shore slow down relative to those father out.

Match each lettered image to the correct stage of atoll formation represented.

B: Stage 2 A: Stage 3 C: Stage 1

Match the coastal feature in the image with its description and how it affects the shoreline.

B: Storms alter the strength of waves, wind, and rainfall amount. Storms may cause greater erosion and move larger coasts of sediment along the shore. E: A steeply sloped seafloor causes large waves to break directly against the shore. High levels of erosion occur. D: Orientation of the coast creates a sheltered area that receives less wave action. A: Rocky coastline is created by bedrock that is resistant to erosion. C: Sediment from rivers produce deposition and accumulation of sediment along the coast.

Match the common landforms of idealized beach profile to their correct description.

Berms: Found in the back shore and appear as nearly flat platforms. Dunes: Generally found avocet the water line and consist of sand deposits. Longshore bars: A gently sloping mound in the inshore region

Determine which features are indicative of submergent coasts and which are indicative of emergent coasts.

Emergent coasts: Marine terraces are found; Wave-cut notches form topographic steps on the land; Old coral reefs are exposed on land. Submergent coasts: Coastal dunes become offshore bars or barrier islands; Estuaries give the coast an irregular outline; Fjords create narrow, deep embayments.

Categorize the shoreline features as either resulting from erosion at an uplifted coast or deposition along a submerged coast over time.

Erosion; uplifted: Sea cliffs, Wave-cut platforms, Sea stacks and sea arches. Deposition; submerged: Spits and badmouth bars, Barrier islands

Which of the following impacts on costumes are commonly associated with hurricanes? (Select all that apply.)

Extreme erosion; Storm surge

True or false: The only process responsible for the movement of sediment along a shoreline is wave action.

False

True or false: While Earth's global average temperature has risen and fallen in the past, sea level has not changed.

False

Match each type of tide to the correct description.

Flood tide: A tide that is in the process of rising and approaching high tide. Ebb tide: A tide that is in the process of falling and approaching low tide.

Based on what you know about the causes of high and low tides, match the type of tide that would be present with the individual locations in the situation depicted. Assume the Sun is to the left of the illustration.

High tide: A and C Low tide: B and D

As a wave approaches the shore at an angle and begins to encounter the bottom, it refracts, and the side closest to the shore ___.

Is slowed more than the segment in deeper water

What approaches are used to address shoreline erosion problems? (Select all that apply.)

Jetties and groins; Seawalls and breakwaters; Not building along coasts; Beach nourishment

Match the geologic feature with whether its presence marks a greater risk or lesser risk for hazards along a coastline and the associated reason behind that risk.

Large dunes: Lesser risk (particularly for those stabilized by vegetation); lowers the risk of erosion and risk from inland storm surge. Sandbars and reefs: Lesser risk; protection of a coast from wave action by these barriers. Gentle slope of the land adjacent to shore: Greater risk; allows the sea to wash farther into the land, potentially causing more flooding by storm surges. Narrow beach: Greater risk; allows erosion during storms, affecting structures sitting near the coastline.

When waves approach the shore at the angle depicted on the diagram, in what direction will the sand be transported?

Laterally to the right

Match the descriptions with the appropriate terms "loading" or "unloading".

Loading: Downwarps the land surface; Causes the land to lower relative sea level. Unloading: Results int isostatic rebound; Occurs when weight is removed from the land; Causes the land to rise relative to sea level.

Which of the following is true regarding the erosion impacts that occurred as a result of Hurricanes Irene, Issac, and Sandy?

Many homes along the coast, which were at the lowest elevations, were destroyed by storm surge and subsequent erosion.

Match the factor with how it may affect sea level.

Melting of glaciers and ice sheets: Large volumes of water are released back into the ocean, sea level rises. Fast rates of seafloor spreading: Mid-ocean ridges become broader and ocean water is displaced out of ocean basins; sea level rises. Cooler ocean temperatures: Water in the oceans will slightly contract; sea level drops. Position of more continents near the poles: Glaciation becomes widespread; sea level drops. Loading and unloading: Continental ice sheets cause elevations to decrease; the land "bounces" back up when the glacier recedes.

The ___ is the primary cause of tides.

Moon

Which of the following geographic features increase the risk of shoreline hazards? (Select all that apply.)

Narrow-width beaches, Gentle sloping shoreline, Low river valley

Which factors may directly influence the strength of wave action (and therefore the strength of erosion and transportation/deposition of sediment) striking a coast? (Select all that apply.)

Orientation of the coastline; Size and intensity of storms; Slope of the adjacent seafloor

Put the descriptions of promontories and bays in the correct categories.

Promontory: A vulnerable projection of land into the water; wave action is focused here, causing high levels of erosion. Waves may refract around this feature, causing waves to strike it from all sides and increase erosion. Bay: This curve inward along a coastline produces quiet waters, so erosion is reduced. Large waves generally do not reach here (though that may change some with the seasons); erosion is reduced.

___ are primarily shallow, submarine features made up of living marine organisms such as coral, sponges, and shellfish.

Reefs

___ currents occur when the backwash moves perpendicular to the shore, moving water very quickly and dangerously back into the ocean.

Rip

Which of the following are common occurrences that after sediments within the surf zone? (Select all that apply.)

Rocks become smooth and flattened; Sand forms from broken rock particles; Angular rocks are rounded as their corners are knocked off.

Match the shoreline feature with the description of how it is formed via wave erosion.

Rounded sediment: Waves smash together loose rock, causing angular corners to wear away. Wave-cut notch: Crashing water and sediment water wear away at bedrock along a rocky shoreline in the same place over time. Wave-cut platform: Waves wash sediment back and forth across the sea bottom and smooth off the underlying bedrock. Angular sediment: Waves break directly on the coast and swirl away loose, broken pieces of bedrock.

What happens to sediment along a shore during a storm? (Select all that apply.)

Sediment deposition occurs farther up the beach than normal; Large waves erode sand; Sand moves out to sea

Based on the LIDAR images of elevations (showing coastal Alabama pre-Hurricane Ivan, post-Hurricane Ivan, and post-Hurricane Katrina), how has LIDAR data helped scientists understand this shoreline (high "boxes" represent houses)? (Select all that apply.)

Shows large changes in erosion and deposition of sediment in different areas along the coast; Demonstrates that this coastline is at high risk for storm damage

Match the type of tide (spring or neap) with the correct description.

Spring tide: Created when the Earth-Moon-Sun system is in alignment; Occurs at times of the new moon and full moon. Neap tide: Occurs at times of the first- and third- quarter moon; Created when the Moon is at a right angle from the Sun in the Earth-Moon-Sun system.

Match each step of atoll formation to the correct stage.

Stage 1: A volcanic island forms through a series of eruptions, creating a shoreline for the building of a fringing reef. Stage 2: The volcanic island cools and begins to sink, but corals continue to grow upward, as the land subsides, created a barrier reef. Stage 3: The volcanic island sinks below the ocean surface, but corals continue to grow upward around a shallow lagoon.

Winters typically produce larger and/or more frequent storms that affect beaches. What overall change happens to a beach during a winter with frequent, large storms?

The beach becomes rocky as sand is moved offshore.

Which of the following are factors that affect whether a shoreline gains or loses sediment over time? (Choose all that apply.)

The degree of erosion by waves; The amount of runoff; The dynamics of longshore currents; The existence or absence of nearby reefs and barrier islands

Which of the following statements are true regarding tides? (Select all that apply.)

The difference between high and low tides is usually between 1 to 3 meters; They are cyclic changes in the height of the sea surface; In most places, high and low tide occur every 12 hours and 25 minutes.

If a rubber duck were floating on the surface of the water in the image, at the point marked "X", and a series of waves were moving toward the right, how would the duck's movements best be described?

The duck will follow a small, clockwise circular path, going up and forward and then down and back, as the wave passes.

Which of the following are observed in an overwash situation?

The seaward side of a barrier island loses its beach, while the backside of the island grows.

Match the time sequences on the image (corresponding to hypothetical locations of the Moon relative to the Earth and Sun) with the type of tide coastal areas on Earth would experience.

Time 1: The area would experience a strong spring tide. Time 2: The area would experience a neap tide. Time 3: The area would experience a weak spring tide.

True or false: Below the wave base, there is now wave action (from the surface waves).

True

True or false: Removing dams on rivers can help restore a shoreline system to its natural state.

True

In which of the following environments are coral reefs most likely to form?

Warm, clear, shallow seawater

Match the ocean wave term with its appropriate description.

Wave crest: The highest part of a wave. Wave trough: The lowest part of a wave. Wavelength: The horizontal distance between two wave crests. Wave height: The vertical distance between the wave crest and the wave trough.

Match the shoreline hazard with its best description.

Wave damage: It occurs mostly during hurricanes and storms; erosion of land and hillsides collapses slopes and buildings into the water. Storm surge: Water may pile up in front of an approaching weather system, inundating low-lying areas along the coast. Strong winds: Communities along a coast lack a windbreak between them and the open water; damage may be severe. Rainfall-related flooding: Many coastal areas are low-lying and have flat elevations, and so structures are prone to damage.

Why does sand move laterally along the coast (as in the image)? (Select all that apply.)

Waves approach the coastline at an angle; Incoming waves move sand alternately inshore at an angle, and then perpendicular to the beach, back offshore.

Match the process with its description of how it affects shorelines.

Waves: Mostly generated by wind, they erode rock and move and deposit sediment. Rivers: They are an important contributor of sediment from the land side and may deposit sediment in the form of a delta. Winds: They move fine material on a beach, and transported sediment may form dunes. Faulting/tectonic activities: Over time, they may raise or lower parts of a coast relative to sea level, causing either emergence or submergence of the coast. Currents: They may move either shallow or deeper-level water, and they transport sediment along a coast.

The area that includes the shoreline and a strip of adjacent land and water is the ___.

coastal zone

Moving from a low to a high tide, a rising tide is also known as a(n) ___ tide, whereas a tide that is moving from high to low is falling and is known as a(n) ___ tide.

flood; ebb

This image shows a coastline that ___.

has experienced a rise in relative sea level and is considered a submergent coast.

The coastline in the image ___. (Select all that apply.)

is an emergent coast; has undergone a relative fall in sea level; shows an example of a marine terrace.

The ___ current moves sand parallel to the coast.

longshore

If there is a large amount of continental landmass near the poles, then sea level will be relatively ___.

low

Wave-cut ___ form within the surf zone along many rocky shorelines and appear as relatively flat terraces on the land.

platforms

A shoreline can gain or lose sand. The amount of sediment available to a shoreline system is the ___.

sediment budget

Coral reefs form in ___. (Select all that apply.)

shallow water because corals need sunlight for photosynthesis; water that contains minimal amounts of suspended sediment because too much sediment blocks light needed by the corals

A ___ tide is a high or low tide that is more extreme than usual, but a ___ tide is weaker than usual.

spring; neap

Coasts that form where the land has been inundated by the sea, due to a relative rise in sea level, are ___ coasts; coasts that form where the land experiences a relative drop in sea level are ___ coasts.

submergent; emergent

With the Hurricanes Irene, Issac, and Sandy, ___. (Select all that apply.)

the inundation regime was breached and homes were destroyed; some sandbars became completely submerged.

Waves on the surface of a body of water are usually generated by ___.

wind