Geology Final Exam Flashcards
What is a foreshore area?
an area that is exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide
What is a backshore area?
an area that is found landward of the high tide mark
What is the nearshore zone?
a zone that lies between the low-tide shoreline and the point where waves break at low tide
What is the offshore zone?
a zone that is seaward of the nearshore zone
What is a crest?
the top of the wave
What is a trough?
the bottom of the wave
What is wave height?
the vertical distance between crest and trough
What is wavelength?
the horizontal distance between successive crests (or troughs)
What is wave period?
the time it takes for one full wavelength to pass
The height, length, and period of a wave depends on what?
wind speed, length of time wind has blown, and fetch
What is longshore transport?
waves move at an angle
What is a spit?
an elongated ridge of sand extending from the land
into the mouth of an adjacent bay
What is a baymouth bar?
a spit that extends across a bay to seal it off from the ocean
What is a tombolo?
a ridge of sand that connects an island to the mainland or another island
What is a breakwater?
an artificial harbor that protects boats from waves
What is a seawall?
built onshore and protects property from breaking waves
What are emergent coastlines?
coastlines that are springing up faster than the ocean can erode it (Ex: California coast)
What are submergent coastlines?
subsidence of land adjacent to the sea/rise in sea level (Ex: Atlantic coast)
What are spring tides?
produce really high or low tides (during new/full moon)
What are neap tides?
produce small tidal range (when the moon and sun are right angles to each other)
What is a positive feedback mechanism?
a good initial change
What is a negative feedback mechanism?
results are opposite of initial change
