Coastal system

Coast: A coast is the zone where the sea or ocean meets the land.
Wave: the movement of water rising and falling in the oceans or seas.
Wave energy: the three main factors which determine the size and energy of wave are wind energy,
duration of wind and fetch. Duration of wind refers to the length of time which the wind blows
continuously while fetch refers to the distance of the sea over which wind blows to generate waves.
Wave movements:
Swash: the forward movement of waves up the shore is called swash.
Backwash: the flow back to the sea (due to gravity) backwash carries the materials back towards the
sea.
The responsible agents that shape the coast are:
i) Types of waves
ii) Tides and
iii) Currents
1. Types of waves:
(i) Constructive waves: Constructive waves are waves that occur in calm
weather on gently sloping coasts. They have a strong swash but a weak backwash. The gentle
gradient allows waves to bring materials and deposited on the coast than are removed. Over time,
the coast is built by the deposited sediment.
(ii) Destructive waves: Destructive waves occur on steeply sloping coasts. These waves break
violently with high energy. They have a weak swash but a strong backwash. Instead of depositing
materials on the coast, destructive waves erode the coast and transport coastal rocks and beach
materials away from it.
2. Tides: Besides waves, another agent responsible for shaping coast is tides. Tides refer to the daily
alternate rising and falling of the sea level along the coast. They are caused primarily by the
gravitational pull of the Moon and to a lesser extent, the Sun. The pull produces two tidal bulges or
high tides on opposite sides of the earth. The tidal action, like wave action, has a significant impact
on the coast. The rise and fall of the sea level affects coastal processes of erosion and
transportation. At high tides, wave attack, erode and transport away.
3. Currents: Coasts are also shaped by currents. Currents are large-scale and persistent movements
of water in the ocean, driven largely by prevailing winds. Longshore drift is the example of ocean
current that flow parallel to a coast. They can transport an entire section of a sandy beach several
kilometres down the coast within a short period of time.
Coastal Processes are:
i) Erosion
ii) Transportation and
iii) Deposition
Coastal Erosion: Coastal erosion is affected by the types of waves, the structure and the composition
of the coastal rocks and the position of coast.
i) Types of waves: destructive waves have more energy than constructive waves. More materials are
eroded than deposited when destructive waves are present.
ii) Structure of coastal rocks: coastal rocks with numerous lines of weakness such as cracks and joints
will be eroded and broken down more quickly when attacked by waves.
iii) Composition of the coastal rocks: coastal rocks with minerals composition that can be easily
dissolved in water, or that can chemically react with water to form new chemicals may gradually
weakened and broken down under the constant attack of sea waves.
iv) Position of the coast: coasts that are protected or sheltered from prevailing winds and wave
action by natural or man-made structures will experience less erosion than coast that are open and
unprotected.
1. Processes of Coastal Erosion
i) Hydraulic action: Hydraulic action is the direct impact of the waves against the coast.
ii) Abrasion: refers to the impact of materials carried by the waves scraping against the coast.
iii) Solution: When waves react chemically with soluble minerals contained in the rock and dissolved
them, a chemical solution is formed. Eg: a coast made up of limestone is susceptible to this process.
iv) Attrition: when rocks carried by the wave rub or hit against each other, they break down into
smaller pieces.
2. Processes of Coastal Transportation
One of the most important ways in which waves transport sediment along the coast is by longshore
drift. When waves approach the coast at an angle, the swash carries the materials in the water up
the beach at an oblique angle, while the backwash carries materials perpendicularly down the beach
because of the pull of gravity. It is a powerful process that is capable of moving very large amounts
of beach materials along the direction of movement.

3. Processes of Coastal Deposition:

Deposition of sediments along the coast depends on the following factors:
i) Supply of sediment: Most sediment is transported down to the coast by rivers. Some sediment
come from coastal erosion. When the wave energy is weak and the weak and the waves cannot
carry their load of sediment, deposition takes place.
ii) Gradient of slope: On gentle slopes, constructive wave is prominent and the swash is stronger
than backwash and it deposits materials rather than erode the materials from the shore.
iii) Position of the coast: along the coast that are sheltered or protected from strong winds such as
indented coastlines and riverine inlets, destructive waves are not common. The calm coastal
conditions allow deposition to take place and a beach may develop.
1. Erosional features
i) Notch
ii) Cave
iii) Cliff
iv) Wave –cut platform
v) Bays
vi) Headland
vii) Arch
viii) Stack
i) Notch: due to hydraulic and abrasion action of wave a crack is created, which is known as notch. It
is also known as wave-cut notch. Or Notch is a deep indentation at the base of a cliff due to intense
wave erosion. It is also known as wave-cut notch.
ii) Cave: a notch is further deepened inwards and increased in size to form a cave.
iii) Cliff: due to continuous undercutting by the wave the roof of the cave is collapsed and formed a
cliff.
Fig.1 Stack
iv) Wave-cut platform: as the erosional process continues, the cliff may retreat further and gently-
sloping platform appears at the base of the cliff. This platform is called a wave-cut platform. A wave-

cut platform or marine terrace is the narrow flat area often seen at the base of a sea cliff caused by
the action of the waves.
v) Bay: some of the coastlines are made of resistant rocks and less resistant rocks. The less resistant
soft rocks are eroded faster than the more resistant hard rocks. When the softer rocks are eroded
away, bays are formed.
vi) Headland: on a coastline when the softer rocks are eroded away and formed the bays, the
remaining hard rocks extending into the sea is known as headlands.
vii) Arch: when the waves continue to erode the back of the cave and cut through the rocks, a new
feature is formed which is known as arch.
viii) Stack: when the arch roof falls into the sea, a stack is formed.
ix) Stump: after more erosion it is reduced in size to form a stump – a small remaining part of the
stack due to wave erosion is known as stump.
Formation of Headland and Bay
Some coastlines are fairly straight because they are similar hardness and resistance to erosion.
However, some have alternative strips of resistant hard rock and less resistant soft rock. The less
resistant soft rocks will be
eroded faster than the more resistant hard rocks.
The result is the formation of indented coasts with headlands and bays. When the softer rocks are
eroded away, bays are formed. The remaining hard rocks extending into the sea is known as
headland. Y is the bay and X is the land in the given photograph.
2. Depositonal Features

i) Beach
ii) Spit
iii) Tombolo iv) Sand bar v) Sand dunes vi) Saltmarsh
i) Beaches: A zone of
deposition, usually consisting
of loose sediments such as
sand and gravel along the
sheltered part of a coast.
Although beaches usually
consist of sandy materials,
they can also be formed from
broken coral pieces, broken shells, small stones and black volcanic sand. The size and composition of
the materials on the beach vary greatly and may change over time according to change in weather
conditions. Generally the finer materials are deposited nearer the sea and the coarser materials
further inland. During calm conditions, fine materials are deposited further up the coast and the
coarser materials are deposited nearer to sea.
ii) Spit: A spit is a long narrow ridges of sand or shingle running out from the coast with one end
attached to the land. They are
formed by longshore drift. When there are
abrupt changes in the direction of the
coastline, the longshore drift continues to transport the materials in the original direction into the
sea. The materials are deposited in the sea where they accumulate over time. Eventually, the
accumulated materials will appear above the surface of the water forming a spit.
iii) Tombolo: A spit that connects A spit has one end
connected to a mainland while the other end projects
out into the sea. If an Island lies near the mainland where the split is formed, the spit may continue
to expand until it joins the island to the mainland. In this case, a new landform is formed known as
Tombolo.
iv) Sand Bar: Bars are ridges of sand and other materials that run roughly parallel to the coast.
v) Sand dunes: Sand dunes are a distinctive coast features but they are caused by the wind, not the
sea. Sand blown up from the beach develops into small hills, which is known as sand dunes.

Coastal Management or planning

There are two types of approaches to protect coasts are:

1. Hard Engineering and 2) Soft engineering. The hard engineering approach refers to the
construction of physical structures to defend against the erosive power of waves. This is also known
as structural approach.
The soft engineering approach, on the other hand, does not involve the building of any physical
structures. It focuses on planning and management so that both coastal areas and property will not
be damaged by erosion. It also aims at changing individual behavior or attitudes towards coastal
protection by encouraging minimal human interference and allowing nature to take its course.

Hard engineering measures:

1) Seawalls: sea walls can be built along the coast. These structures absorb the energy of
wavesl before they can erode away loose materials. Sea walls are effective in protecting
cliffs from erosion.
2) Breakwater: break waters help to protect the coast and harbor by reducing the force of the
high energy waves before they reach the shore. They can built with one end attached to the
coast or build away from the coast.
3) Groynes: Groynes are built at right angles to the shore to prevent longshore drift. These
structures absorb or reduce the energy of the waves and cause materials to be deposited on
the side of the groyne facing the longshore drift.
4) Gabions: Gabions are wire cages usually filled with crushed rocks. These cage are then pilled
up along the shore to prevent or reduce coastal erosion by weakening the wave energy.
 Soft Engineering measures:

1)) Beach nourishment: This soft engineering measure refers to the constant replenishment of large
quantities of sand to the beach system. The beach is therefore extended seawards, which lead to the
improvement of both beach quality and storm protection.
2) Relocation of property: Instead of constructing seawalls and groynes, coastal planners are
trying to protect man-made structures such as buildings by relocating them and letting the
nature reclaim the beach in its own time. No building of new properties or structures would
be allowed in coastal areas that are vulnerable to coastal erosion.
3) Planting of mangroves: mangroves, with their long, curved roots that prop up from the
soil help to trap sediments
4) Stabilising dunes: coastal dunes can be found along the shore where there is a large
supply of and strong winds. The winds carry and deposit the sand on the coast further
inland. The piled up sand forming coastal dunes help to defend the coastal from the sea.
These dunes are so fragile that delicate shrubs struggle to hold in place. To prevent the
dunes from being disturbed by human traffic, access points to the beach should be
controlled and designated. Shrubs and trees can be planted to stabilize the dunes as the
roots can reach downwards to tap the ground water and thereby anchor the sand in the
process.
5) Growth of coral reefs: Coral reefs can weaken wave energy. When coral reefs are
destroyed, the waves may move towards the shore at full force and wash away beaches. The
natural reefs can be conserved and protected while damaged reefs can be restored. Artificial
reefs can be created along the coast by placing environmentally friendly and durable
materials such as steel or concrete on the sea floor. Such man- made reefs can be just as
protective of the coast as naturally formed reefs.

Tropical storms: Hurricane Katrina, USA

Hurricane Katrina was the USA’s worst natural disaster in living memory. The storm hit land
near New Orleans on 29th August 2005 at a speed of some 225km/h. The battering winds
were not the only danger. The low pressure at the centre of the hurricane and the high
winds made the ocean rise up by a much as 9m in places.
The hurricane was a particular threat to New Orleans, which is built on land below sea level,
putting it at risk of serious flooding. Over 1830 people were killed in the USA. Economists
suggest Hurricane Katrina cost the US economy $80 billion. The rescue operation was
criticized for not doing enough to help the poorest members of this population. Many of the
poor neighbourhoods were the worst hit by the hurricane.
When Katrina made landfall, it flooded the streets, wrecked the power grid, tore roofs and
wall off historic buildings and brought down many trees. The floods brought with them
poisonous snakes, water-borne disease, carcasses of livestock and abandoned pets and
swollen human corpses. This was shocking sight of an MEDC society like the USA. There were
also health dangers arising from fallen power lines and sewage- tainted water.
Many homes in New Orleans were submerged by the surge of floodwater brought on by the
storm. Over 70% of the city is below sea level and 80% of it went under water, with some
sections as deep as 6m. The floodwaters in New Orleans were ten times more toxic than is
considered safe.