The document discusses various coastal landforms created by waves and wind including beaches, sea cliffs, wave-cut platforms, stacks, spits, and barrier islands. It also examines different types of tides and their influence on coastal features. Additionally, it describes various dune types such as barchan, parabolic, transverse, and longitudinal dunes that are formed by wind erosion and transportation of sand particles. The document concludes by discussing loess deposits of wind-blown glacial sediment.
Global sea levels are rising due to two main factors: eustatic change caused by melting ice sheets and glaciers which adds water to the oceans, and isostatic change where land masses rise or sink in response to being weighed down by ice. As sea levels rise, coastal landforms emerge like raised beaches and relict cliffs, while others submerge to form drowned river valleys called rias and flooded glacial valleys called fjords. Rising seas are predicted to flood low-lying coastal areas and increase erosion, threatening habitats, settlements, infrastructure and fresh water sources over the coming decades.
This document discusses various coastal landforms and processes. It describes how waves, currents, erosion and deposition shape coastlines. Key points include:
- Waves erode cliffs and platforms while deposition builds beaches, spits and bars.
- Longshore drift transports sediment parallel to the shore, while rip currents carry it seaward.
- Refraction of waves around headlands forms bays. Erosion of headlands produces arches, stacks and tunnels.
- Coral reefs develop in warm, tropical waters where calcium carbonate precipitation exceeds dissolution. Atolls form as islands submerge, leaving ring-shaped reef structures.
The document discusses various coastal landforms created by waves and wind including beaches, sea cliffs, wave-cut platforms, stacks, spits, and barrier islands. It also examines different types of tides and their influence on coastal features. Additionally, it describes various dune types such as barchan, parabolic, transverse, and longitudinal dunes that are formed by wind erosion and transportation of sand particles. The document concludes by discussing loess deposits of wind-blown glacial sediment.
Global sea levels are rising due to two main factors: eustatic change caused by melting ice sheets and glaciers which adds water to the oceans, and isostatic change where land masses rise or sink in response to being weighed down by ice. As sea levels rise, coastal landforms emerge like raised beaches and relict cliffs, while others submerge to form drowned river valleys called rias and flooded glacial valleys called fjords. Rising seas are predicted to flood low-lying coastal areas and increase erosion, threatening habitats, settlements, infrastructure and fresh water sources over the coming decades.
This document discusses various coastal landforms and processes. It describes how waves, currents, erosion and deposition shape coastlines. Key points include:
- Waves erode cliffs and platforms while deposition builds beaches, spits and bars.
- Longshore drift transports sediment parallel to the shore, while rip currents carry it seaward.
- Refraction of waves around headlands forms bays. Erosion of headlands produces arches, stacks and tunnels.
- Coral reefs develop in warm, tropical waters where calcium carbonate precipitation exceeds dissolution. Atolls form as islands submerge, leaving ring-shaped reef structures.