Coastal Geomorphology Flashcards
Coastal Barrier
any sandy shoreline
swash zone
area where waves go up and then go back down
variable by area
surf zone
area where waves are actively breaking
you go surfing here
waves disentangle from group of waves they started with and are now individual waves
break zone
where the surf zone starts
shoaling zone
where the waves are first touching the bottom
-friction, they slow down, increase in height
backshore
above high tide line, beyond the swash (foreshore)
nearshore bar
accumulation of sand
foreshore
between the limits of high tide and low tide swash
bars
dynamic
bar is sand that is offshore, bar comes onto the shore and becomes the beach, this eventually becomes the bar
bars are moved by changes in wave structure
why do nearshore and beaches change? (exam Q)
bar
the bar is the shallowest point offshore
-supply of sand offshore
-important for replenishing the beach after a storm
describe the way a grain of sand moves depending on the weight of the grain (settling velocity), wave period, and wave height
height the grain of sand moves is directly related to the height of the wave
grain starts to fall once it hits the top of the wave
-the grain it falls is the settling velocity
-wave period is how long it falls for
-heavy sand goes onshore, light sand goes offshore
-(heavy sand will fall before the other wave hits it)
-big wave offshore, little wave onshore
-longer period onshore, shorter period offshore
surf
bigger the ratio, the more sand moves offshore to make nearshore bars
smaller ratio means sand moves onshore, bar is on the beach
point pelee
if you track the tip of point pelee through time, its flipping back and forth
-steady state equilibrium
-storm, recovery, storm, recovery
