Coasts

Question 1

Shore

Answer 1

boundary of land and see

Question 2

Coasts

Answer 2

larger zone affected by the processes that occur at the shore

Question 3

Factors influencing the locations of coasts

Answer 3

global tectonic activity

volume of water in ocean

Question 4

Factors influencing shape of coasts

Answer 4

uplift and subsidence of land
erosion and deposition
activities of plants, animals, and humans

Question 5

Factors leading to sea level change

Answer 5

1) amount of water in ocean varies with glaciation/deglaciation and volcanic activity
2) the volume of the ocean’s container varies with tectonic activity
3) water itself contracts and expands with thermosteric and halosteric effects
4) height and shape of coasts change with tectonic motion and isostatic adjustments
5) ocean can be pushed to the coast or drawn from it by tides, currents, seiches, storms
1-3 are eustatic (worldwide) and 4 and 5 are local

Question 6

erosional coasts

Answer 6

erosive processes > depositional processes
relatively new
from land: stream erosion, abrasion by wind-driven grit, freezing/thawing, plant root probing, glacial activity, rainfall, dissolution by acids from soil
from sea: crashing waves, dissolution of minerals in the rock by water, action of marine organisms
erosion is rapid on high-energy coasts and slow on low-energy coasts
erosion can straighten shorelines (selective erosion)

Question 7

depositional coasts

Answer 7

depositional processes > erosive processes

steady or growing

Question 8

sea cliff

Answer 8

a cliff marking the landward limitation of marine erosion on an erosional coast
results from wave action
wave-cut platforms mark the submerged limit of rapid marine erosion

Question 9

beach

Answer 9

a zone of loose particles extending from below the water level to the edge of the coastal zone

Question 10

beach dynamics

Answer 10

seasonal transformations of temperate-climate beaches
wave refraction
longshore drift
longshore current

Question 11

rip currents

Answer 11

strong, localized, and narrow current of water which moves directly away from shore and cuts the lines of breaking waves
moves at up to 2.5 m/s

Question 12

coral reefs

Answer 12

a linear mass of calcium carbonate assembled from coral organisms, algae, mollusks, etc.
can remain below sea level or above

Question 13

mangroves

Answer 13

trees than grow in saline water

root systems trap and hold sediments around plant

Question 14

atoll

Answer 14

a ring shaped island of coral reefs and coral debris almost enclosing a shallow lagoon from which no land protrudes
form as volcanoes subside
- a fringing reef forms around an island in tropics
- island sinks as oceanic plate on which it rides moves away from spreading center
- island does not sink faster than coral which builds upward
- island disappears

Question 15

estuaries

Answer 15

where freshwater meets ocean
partially surrounded by land
4 types
1) drowned river mouths - result from fluctuations in sea level
bar-built - formed by barrier island built parallel to coast at sea level
fjords - formed by tectonic forces and later modified by glaciers
tectonic - due to coastal indentations formed by faulting and local subsidence

Question 16

St. Lawrence estuary

Answer 16

tectonic origin
one of the world’s deepest and largest
surface water saltier nearer to ocean