2.

3 Coasts
Thursday, March 3, 2022 8:21 AM

Work of the sea and wind:

• Coasts are always changing due to erosion and deposition.
• Erosion:
○ Hydraulic action: waves break against the cliffs by their weight and power. They also trap air in cracks in the
rock. This air is compressed by the waves, eventually causing the rocks to break apart.
○ Corrasion (abrasion): particles carried by the waves crash against the cliffs, eroding the cliffs.
○ Attrition: particles carried by the waves crash against each other and are broken up into smaller and
rounder particles.
○ Solution (corrosion): the acids in seawater slowly dissolve the chalk and limestone cliffs. The material
produced is carried away by the process of solution.
• 2 types of waves:
Type of wave Wavelength Wave Frequency Swash Backwash Work on the coast
height
Destructive Shorter Higher Higher Stronger Weaker Beach built up by deposition of
(10-15/min) material brough up in swash
Constructive Longer Lower Lower Weaker Stronger Beach eroded as material
(6-9/min) removed by backwash
• Factors that influence the rate of coastal erosion
○ The type of rocks that form the cliffs (e.g. limestone, chalk and granite are resistant rocks)
○ The strength of waves, which depends on wind speed and the fetch (the distance the wave travels across
the sea)
○ The shape of the coastline
§ Concordant coastline
§ Discordant coastline
○ How sheltered or exposed to waves the coast is

Erosional landforms:
• Concordant and discordant coastlines
○ Concordant coastline: where the rock strata are parallel to the sea → the coast is eroded at the same rate
→ moves back slowly
○ Discordant coastline: where the rock strata are vertical to the sea → hard and soft rocks often cause
headlands and bays to develop
• Headlands and bays (at discordant coastlines)

○ Headland:
§ Composed of more resistant rock
§ Projects out into the sea
§ Is usually longer than its breadth
§ Has sides which form cliffs
○ Bay:
§ Composed of softer rock
§ Has an approximately semi-circle shape of sea extending into the land
§ A wide open entrance from the sea
§ Land behind it that is lower than the headlands on either side
○ Formation of headlands and bays:
§ The soft rock is easier to get eroded by the waves, while the hard rock is harder to be eroded
§ Bays have formed due to rapid corrosion of soft rock
§ Hard rock left sticking out into the sea
§ After bays and headlands are formed, the headlands shelter the bays from erosion
§ Once formed, headlands are left more vulnerable as all the energy of the waves concentrate on
headlands --> slow erosion of headlands
• Coves (at concordant coastlines):

○ Formation process:
§ A weakness appears in the concordant coastline
§ The waves erode the softer rock behind the hard rock
§ A circular indent in the land is formed
• Cliffs and wave-cut platforms:

○ Formation process:
§ When the waves break, all the energy is concentrated on one point, where the erosion is more rapid
§ This forms the wave-cut notch at the bottom, which undercuts the cliff
§ When the overhanging cliff can no longer hold its weight, the cliff collapses
§ As layers and layers of cliffs collapse, a layer of flat rock is left at the bottom, which forms the wave-
cut platform
• Caves, arches, stacks and stumps
○ Sequence: cave → arch → stack → stump

○ Formation process:
§ Hydraulic action of waves leaves cracks on the surface of cliffs, forming caves.
§ If the cave is formed in a thin headland, the waves may breakthrough and form an arch.
§ As the arch grows bigger, it may not support the rock above. After the arch collapses, it leaves the
headland on one side and a stack on the other side.
§ The stack is attacked just like how a wave-cut notch is formed. This weakens the structure and it
collapses to form a stump.

Depositional landforms:
• Longshore drift

○ The direction of the longshore drift is predominantly controlled by the direction of the prevailing wind
○ Formation process:
§ Because of the prevailing wind, the swash occurs at an angle to the beach
§ The backwash is perpendicular to the beach
§ So, the materials are carried in a zig-zag pattern
• Spits, bars, and tombolos

○ Formation process:
§ The prevailing wind forms at an angle with the coastline
§ Longshore drift moves material along the coastline
§ A spit forms when the material is deposited, often when the coast suddenly changes direction (e.g.
across a river mouth)
§ Overtime, the spit grows and develops a hook if wind direction changes further out, forming a spit
§ When the spit connects two headlands, it becomes a bar
§ When the spit connects two islands, it becomes a tombolo
• Salt marshes
○ Formation process:
§ Mud and silt are deposited behind the spit
§ The deposition grows towards the sea
§ Salty water and fresh water meet → brackish water
§ No strong sides or currents to prevent sediment deposition and accumulation
§ Vegetation succession
• Coral reefs
○ Types of coral reefs:

§ Barrier reef: parallel to the shore but separated by a channel of water

§ Atoll: a ring-shaped coral reef, consisting of a coral rim that encircles a lagoon
§ Fringing reef: forms around a land mass
○ Features:
§ Home to many marine species
○ Formation:
§ Conditions needed (explained in the next point)
§ Made up of polyps that secrete calcium carbonate, which creates the base of the coral reef
○ Conditions for coral reefs to grow:
§ Warm water (about 23˚ C)
§ Unpolluted clear water → sunlight can penetrate (for photosynthesis)
§ Shallow water (about less than 60m) → sunlight can penetrate (for photosynthesis)
• Mangroves
○ Characteristics & distribution & required conditions:
§ Halophytes (which means that they are salt-tolerant)
§ Flowering plants
§ Found in protected, intertidal coastal areas
§ Found in tropical and sub-tropical areas (between 30˚N and 30˚C)
§ Minimum sea surface temp. > 16˚C
○ Functions
§ Environmental services
□ Fish nursery
□ Improving coastal water quality (tangled root systems increase deposition of sediment)
□ Coastal protection (absorb wave energy during storms)
□ Succession & creation of new land (mangroves gradually extend land seaward)
□ A source of local resources (wood for charcoal, flowers for honey, bark 树皮 for medicine and
dyes, leaves for cattle feed)
□ CO2 sequestration & mitigating global warming
□ Habitat value: epiphytes 附生植物, species that live in the mud (mollusks and crabs), juvenile
coral reef fish, birds (esp. during seasonal migrations)
○ Threats
§ Coastal developments (industrial/residential building)
§ Shrimp aquaculture
§ Agricultural expansion
§ Unsustainable tourism
§ Rising sea level
• Beaches
○ Formation process:
§ The wind and waves transport materials to the coast from elsewhere
§ The materials are deposited on the coast, forming the beach (stronger swash than backwash)
• Sand dunes

○ Formation process:
§ When the tide is low, the sand dries and is blown up the beach by the wind
§ When the blown-up sand meet obstacles, they settle down and form an embryo dune
§ Sea couch grass colonizes the embryo dune and helps to fix it
§ The sand accumulates and the embryo dune becomes a yellow dune; marram grass replaces sea
couch grass
§ New dunes develop as the previous dune grows
§ Vegetation succession: sea couch grass --> marram grass --> marsh plants and small willow trees -->
climax trees

Coastal opportunities and hazards:

• Opportunities
○ Tourism
○ Sport
○ Fishing
○ Aquaculture industry
○ Oil & gas reserves
○ Housing (beauty & relaxing lifestyle)
○ Transport → coastal industries
○ Flat landscape for construction
• Hazards
○ Erosion
○ Tropical storms → flooding; storm surges (a rise in sea level during tropical storms)
○ Rising sea level
○ Pollution (sewage discharge, oil spills, litter thrown into the sea)
○ Overfishing

Coastal management:
• Hard engineering
○ Groynes
○ Sea walls
○ Boulder barriers / rock armor
○ Revetments: wooden or concrete slatted barriers placed at the top of beaches to protect the base of cliffs
when the waves break against them
○ Gabions: metal cages which enclose rocks and boulders to absorb the energy from waves
○ Offshore breakwaters: large concrete blocks and boulders located offshore to reduce longshore drift
• Soft engineering
○ Beach nourishment
○ Dune regeneration
○ Managed retreat
• Pros and cons of hard and soft engineering
Pros Cons
Hard Quick, short-term effect Unnatural and unfriendly to the environment
Reduce the risks quickly Expensive
Difficult to maintain
Soft Eco-friendly Takes a long time to see the effects
Cheap Can be easily damaged in infancy
Easy to maintain Cannot stand against most severe storms