Marine and coastal process

Coastal processes occur when waves break on a shore, not only on ocean/sea coasts but also
on lakes/ponds.

Marine processes include:

 Waves
 Currents
 Still-water deposition
 Biological activity
 Tides
 Sea level rises

Characteristics of Waves
 Waves are usually caused by wind and controlled by wind speed.
 Waves are oscillation.
 Waves motion dies out with depth.
 Surface water has more velocity than that of bottom
 Waves usually approach a shore obliquely.

Types of waves
 Constructive Wave
 Destructive Wave

Longshore Drift

Swash comes onto a beach obliquely and Backwash leaves downslope (perpendicular to the
beach), resulting in a small net translation of water and sediment in the direction of the original waves.
The water is not lowing parallel to shore, but that is the net effect of two processes.

Longshore drift causes a continual re-working of sediment on a beach and translation parallel to
the shore.

Rip Currents

Rip currents, also known as riptides of undertows, results when water piles up on the beach.
This is unstable, and the water will make it out to sea somehow.
A rip current is a fast-moving current that carries water away from shore in a concentrated stream.
It does not pull you under, but does carry you out to sea.

Tides

The moon does not simply orbit he earth. The earth also orbits the moon, but in a very small orbit.
Due to the combination of gravitational and centrifugal forces, result in a twice daily rise and fall of
sea-level.
The earth-sun system also produces this effect, and the two are super-imposed, resulting in a
twice - daily rise and fall, with variations throughout the courses of the moon’s orbit (monthly).

Storm surge
Storm surge is an abnormal rise of water generated by a storm, over and above the predicted
astronomical tides.
Storm tides defined as the water level rises due to the combination of storm surge and astronomical
tide.

Tsunamis
It is a series of waves generated by the sudden displacement of the sea-bottom due to an
earthquake, a submarine landslide, an asteroid impact, or a volcanic explosion.
Tsunami are very long and lengthy waves, so they move fast.
In deep water, most tsunamis have fairly small amplitude (like a half-meter or meter). when they feel
bottom and start to crest, a huge amount of water stacks up and can results in devastating coastal
flooding.
Sometimes, a tsunami falls then rises, sometimes it rises than falls, depending on how the fault moved
and where the sites is relative to the fault.

Sea level
 It is very hard to measure sea level in absolute terms, so we really talk about relative rises and falls
of sea level.

Sea level changes can be due to:

 Subsidence as underlying sediments compact (porosity decreases).
 Cooling-driven subsidence (or heating-driven uplift).
 Influx of ice from melting glaciers.
 Expansion or contraction of mid-ocean ridges.
 Filling in of ocean with sediments.
 Movement of fault.

Landform

There are three types of coastal landforms

 Erosional coast
 Transportational coast
 Deposition coast

Marine Processes
Marine processes are those associated with the action of waves. This includes erosion,
transportation and deposition.

Erosion
Erosion refers to the wearing away of the land surface and removal of materials by river and
seawater, ice and wind. There are four main processes of erosion along the coast. These are hydraulic
action, abrasion and corrasion, attrition and solution.

Hydraulic action
Waves breaking at the foot of a cliff force air in cracks to be compressed. Loose rocks are
dislodged and removed. When the wave retreats the compressed air rushes out of the crack and can
further weaken faults in the cliff face.

Abrasion
Abrasion is the sandpaper effect of loose rocks being scraped along bare rock. It often smooths
and polishes the rock.

Corrasion
Corrasion is when rock caught up in surging waves are hurled at a cliff face – causing it to be
chipped and gauged.

Attrition
Attrition is when rocks carried by seawater collide – gradually making them smaller and smoother.

Transportation
Transportation is the movement of sediment by the action of waves.

Traction
Traction involves the rolling of large and heavy rocks along the seabed.

Saltation
Saltation involves smaller material being bounced along the seabed.

Suspension
Suspension is when lighter sediment is suspended within the water. This often discolours the
water close to the shore.

Solution
Sediment that has dissolved completely will be transported in solution.

Deposition
Deposition occurs when energy levels decrease in environments such as bays and estuaries.
Where deposition occurs on the inside of a spit a salt marsh can form.
A cliff is a mass of rock that rises very high and is almost vertical, or straight up-and-down. Cliffs are
very common landscape features. They can form near the ocean (sea cliffs), high in mountains, or as
the walls of canyons and valleys. Waterfalls tumble over cliffs.
 
Cliffs are usually formed because of processes called erosion and weathering. Weathering happens
when natural events, like wind or rain, break up pieces of rock. In coastal areas, strong winds and
powerful waves break off soft or grainy rocks from hardier rocks. The harder rocks are left as cliffs.
 
The tiny pieces of rocks broken off by weathering are called sediment or alluvium. Erosion is the
process of transportation of this sediment. On sea cliffs, sediment becomes part of the seafloor and is
washed away with the waves. On inland cliffs, sediment is often carried away by rivers or winds.
 
Larger rocks broken off by sediment are called scree or talus. Scree builds up at the bottom of many
inland cliffs as rocks tumble down. These piles are called scree slopes or talus piles. Some scree slopes
can be so large that soil and sediment can build up between the rocks, allowing trees and
other vegetation to grow on the slope.

Reading: Human Modifications of Coastal Processes

People love living near the beach. More than 50% of the population lives within 50 miles (80 km) of
a shoreline. Once developed, communities make an effort to protect their beach homes and coastal
businesses. Throughout history, humans have attempted to slow or alter the dynamic coastal zone. The
anthropogenic (human-influenced) changes to coastal environments may take many forms: creation or
stabilization of inlets, beach nourishment and sediment bypassing, creation of dunes for property
protection, dredging of waterways for shipping and commerce, and introduction of hard structures such
as jetties, groins, and seawalls. These modifications change coastal features and have far-reaching
effects on coastal processes and ecosystems. An understanding of how human changes alter shoreline
environments and park resources is vital for the protection and preservation of coastal areas.

Soft Structures

Dredging
Dredging, the removal of sediment, including sand, silt, rock, and other subaqueous materials
from our coastal waterways is a hotly debated topic in coastal management. The effects of dredging
waterways and ports to benefit shipping, transport, and recreation are not fully understood. Opponents
claim that coastal dredging may have detrimental environmental impacts and may interfere with
sediment transport and flow dynamics in coastal and marine systems.

Beach Nourishment
Beach nourishment is the process of placing additional sediment on a beach. This material is
obtained from another source that either lies inland or is dredged offshore. Nourishment entails the
removal of sediment from “borrow sites,” and the subsequent transport of the sediment to beach areas.
Borrow sites may alter sediment transport, hydrodynamic patterns, marine ecosystems, and sediment
transport, such as creating erosional “hot spots” on adjacent shorelines.
Beach Scraping
Beach scraping (i.e., grading and bulldozing) is the process of reshaping beach and dune
landforms with heavy machinery. Usually a layer of sand from the lower beach is moved to the upper
beach. Beach scraping creates dunes, which are used to give property owners some security from
beach erosion, severe storms, and winter washover events. During the summers, the created
sandbanks may be bulldozed flat, providing water views to property owners. However, the effects of
beach scraping on coastal environments are little known, and this procedure may be harmful to coastal
biota and habitats. Proponents claim that beach scraping is a time and cost-effective method to ensure
shoreline protection, while opponents state that this method may be the most ecologically destructive
form of coastal manipulation to date.

Hard Structures
Hard structures are often placed in marine environments to counteract erosion in sediment-
deficient areas, or to deter accretion in sediment-rich areas such as inlets. Unfortunately, these
anthropogenic modifications may accelerate erosion in adjacent downdrift areas, increasing the need for
additional hard structures. The creation of new hard structures is currently banned in many states, or
strongly discouraged as coastal management practice.
Groins are shore-perpendicular structures, used to maintain updrift beaches or to restrict
longshore sediment transport. Permeable groins are becoming popular, and may negate some of the
negative effects of impermeable groins. Another type of shore-perpendicular hard structure are jetties,
which are normally placed adjacent to tidal inlets to control inlet migration and to minimize sediment
deposition within the inlet.
Shore parallel structures include seawalls, bulkheads, and revetments. These structures are
designed to protect coastal property. Development permits are relatively easy to obtain in many states
because seawalls may be built above the high-water mark on private property, and they are relatively
inexpensive, compared to beach nourishment. Ironically, seawalls usually accelerate erosion on
beaches they are intended to protect. Wave energy is reflected off seawalls, increasing erosion in front
of them. The placement of a seawall will decrease the sediment supply near seawalls, increasing
erosion on adjacent beaches. In many areas, beaches have completely eroded and disappeared on
account of seawalls.
Other anthropogenic structures that are used to stop or alter natural coastal changes include
breakwaters, headlands, sills, and reefs. These structures are composed of either natural or artificial
materials, and are designed to alter the effects of waves and slow coastline erosion and change.
Submerged reefs and sills dampen wave energy and may create new habitat, which is significant for
local fisheries. However, the long-term effects of these structures, on both physical and biological
processes, are not understood and require thorough examination.

Coastal Zones

A coastal zone is the interface between the land and water. These zones are important because a
majority of the world's population inhabit such zones. Coastal zones are continually changing because
of the dynamic interaction between the oceans and the land. Waves and winds along the coast are both
eroding rock and depositing sediment on a continuous basis, and rates of erosion and deposition vary
considerably from day to day along such zones. The energy reaching the coast can become high during
storms, and such high energies make coastal zones areas of high vulnerability to natural hazards. 
Thus, an understanding of the interactions of the oceans and the land is essential in understanding the
hazards associated with coastal zones.  Tides, currents, and waves bring energy to the coast, and thus
we start with these three factors.

Tides
Tides are due to the gravitational attraction of Moon and to a lesser extent, the Sun on the Earth.
Because the Moon is closer to the Earth than the Sun, it has a larger affect and causes the Earth to
bulge toward the moon.

Fluctuations in Water Level

While sea level fluctuates on a daily basis because of the tides, long term changes in sea level
also occur.  Such sea level changes can be the result of local effects such as uplift or subsidence along
a coast line.  But, global changes in sea level can also occur.  Such global sea level changes are
called eustatic changes.  Eustatic sea level changes are the result of either changing the volume of
water in the oceans or changing the shape of the oceans.   For example, during glacial periods much of
the water evaporated from the oceans is stored on the continents as glacial ice.  This causes sea level
to become lower. 

Oceanic Currents

Oceanic circulation is three dimensional. Most visible to humans are the surface ocean currents that are
mainly driven by the wind. Vertical currents and deep ocean currents are driven by upwelling and
downwelling near the coasts and differences in density, temperature and salinity between the surface
waters and the deep ocean waters. 

Ocean Waves
 
Waves are generated by winds that blow over the surface of oceans. In a wave, water travels in loops.
But since the surface is the area affected, the diameter of the loops decreases with depth. The
diameters of loops at the surface is equal to wave height (h).\

Wave refraction - Waves generally do not approach shoreline parallel to shore. Instead some parts of
waves feel the bottom before other parts, resulting in wave refraction or bending. Wave energy can thus
be concentrated on headlands, to form cliffs. Headlands erode faster than bays because the wave
energy gets concentrated at headlands.

Coastal Erosion and Sediment Transport

 
Coastlines are zones along which water is continually making hanges. Waves can both erode rock and
deposit sediment. Because of the continuous nature of ocean currents and waves, energy is constantly
being expended along coastlines and they are thus dynamically changing systems, even over short
(human) time scales.

 
Erosion by Waves

As we discussed previously, the motion of waves is only felt to a depth of 1/2 times the wavelength. 
Thus, waves can only erode if the water along a coastline is shallower than 1/2 times the wavelength. 
But, when the wave breaks as it approaches the shoreline, vigorous erosion is possible due to the
sudden release of energy as the wave flings itself onto the shore.  Rigorous erosion of sea floor takes
place in the surf zone, i.e. between shoreline and breakers. Waves break at depths between 1 and 1.5
times wave height. Thus for 6 m tall waves, rigorous erosion of sea floor can take place in up to 9 m of
water. In the breaker zone rock particles carried in suspension by the waves are hurled at other rock
particles. As these particles collide, they are abraded and reduced in size.  Smaller particles are carried
more easily by the waves, and thus the depth to the bottom is increased as these smaller particles are
carried away by the retreating surf.  Furthermore, waves can undercut rocky coastlines resulting in mass
wasting processes wherein material slides, falls, slumps, or flows into the water to be carried away by
further wave action.

Transport of Sediment by Waves and Currents

Sediment that is created by the abrasive action of the waves or sediment brought to the shoreline by
streams is then picked up by the waves and transported.  The finer grained sediment is carried offshore
to be deposited on the continental shelf or in offshore bars, the coarser grained sediment can be
transported by longshore currents and beach drift.
 
 Longshore currents - Most waves arrive at the shoreline at an angle, even after refraction. Such
waves have a velocity oriented in the direction perpendicular to the wave crests, but this velocity
can be resolved into a component perpendicular to the shore (Vp) and a component parallel to the
shore (VL). The component parallel to the shore can move sediment and is called the longshore
current.

 Beach drift - is due to waves approaching at angles to beach, but retreating perpendicular to the
shore line. This results in the swash of the incoming wave moving the sand up the beach in a
direction perpendicular to the incoming wave crests and the backwash moving the sand down the
beach perpendicular to the shoreline. Thus, with successive waves, the sand will move along a
zigzag path along the beach.

Coastal Processes

Coastlines represent a balance between wave energy and sediment supply.

If wave energy and sediment supply are constant, then a steady state is reached. If any one of these
factors change, then shoreline will adjust.

Types of Coasts

The character and shape of coasts depends on such factors as tectonic activity, the ease of erosion of
the rocks making up the coast, the input of sediments from rivers, the effects of eustatic changes in sea
level, and the length of time these processes have been operating.

Rocky Coasts - In general, coastlines that have experienced recent tectonic uplift as a result of either
active tectonic processes (such as the west coast of the United States) or isostatic adjustment after
melting of glacial ice (such as the northern part of the east coast of the United States) form rocky coasts
with cliffs along the shoreline.  Anywhere wave action has not had time to lower the coastline to sea
level, a rocky coast may occur. .

Beaches - A beach is the wave washed sediment along a coast. Beaches occur where sand is
deposited along the shoreline. A beach can be divided into a foreshore zone, which is equivalent to the
swash zone, and backshore zone, which is commonly separated from the foreshore by a distinct ridge,
called a berm. Behind the backshore may be a zone of cliffs, marshes, or sand dunes.

Barrier Islands  - A barrier island is a long narrow ridge of sand just offshore running parallel to the
coast. Separating the island and coast is a narrow channel of water called a lagoon. Most barrier islands
were built during after the last glaciation as a result of sea level rise. Barrier islands are constantly
changing. They grow parallel to the coast by beach drift and longshore drift, and they are eroded by
storm surges that often cut them into smaller islands.  Barrier islands are common along the east and
Gulf coasts of the United States.

 Reefs and Atolls  -  Reefs consist of colonies of organisms, like corals, which secrete calcium
carbonate. Since these organisms can only live in warm waters and need sunlight to survive,
reefs only form in shallow tropical seas. Fringing reefs form along coastlines close to the sea
shore, whereas barrier reefs form offshore, separated from the land by a lagoon.  Both types of
reefs form shallow water and thus protect the coastline from waves. However, reefs are high
susceptible to human activity and the high energy waves of storms.

In the deeper oceans reefs can build up on the margins of volcanic islands, but only do so after
the volcanoes have become extinct. After the volcanism ceases, the volcanic island begins to
erode and also begins to subside.As the island subsides, the reefs continue to grow upward.
Eventually, the original volcanic island subsides and is eroded below sea level. But, the reefs
trap sediment and a circular or annular island, called an atoll, forms.
 Estuaries- Coastal river valleys flooded by sea water are called estuaries.  They are
chracterized by mixing of fresh and salt water. Most modern estuaries are related to sea level
rise since the last glaciation. 

Tidal Flats - These are zones along the coast that are flooded during hight tides and form in the
intertidal zones lacking strong waves.   They are common behind barrier islands or in estuaries. 

Mitigating Against Coastal Hazards

Shoreline protection can be divided into two categories: hard stabilization in which structures are built to
reduce the action of the waves and soft stabilization which mainly refers to adding sediment back to a
beach as it erodes away.

Hard Stabilization

Seacliffs, since they are susceptible to landslides due to undercutting, and barrier islands and beaches,
since they are made of unconsolidated sand and gravel, are difficult to protect from the action of the
waves. Human construction can attempt to prevent erosion, but cannot always protect against abnormal
conditions.

 
Two types of hard stabilization are often used.  

 One type interrupts the force of the waves. Seawalls are built parallel to the coastline to protect
structures on the beach. A seawall is usually built of concrete or piles of large rocks.  Waves
crash against the seawall and are prevented from running up the beach.  Breakwaters serve a
 similar purpose, but are built slightly offshore, again preventing the force of the waves from
reaching the beach and any structures built on the beach.

The other type interrupts the flow of sediment along the beach.  These structures include groins and
jetties, built at right angles to the beach to trap sand and widen the beach.

While hard stabilization does usually work for its intended purpose, it does cause sediment to be
redistributed along the shoreline.  Breakwaters, for example cause wave refraction, and alters the flow
of the longshore current.  Sediment is trapped by the breakwater, and the waves become focused on
another part of the beach, not protected by the breakwater, where they can cause significant erosion.
Similarly, because groins and jetties trap sediment, areas in the downdrift direction are not resupplied
with sediment, and beaches become narrower in the downdrift direction.

Soft stabilization is primarily accomplished by adding sediment to the coastline, usually by dredging
sediment from offshore and pumping it onto the coastline. Adding sediment is necessary when erosion
removes too much sediment. But, because the erosive forces are still operating, such addition of
sediment will need to be periodically repeated.