5th form

Geography
Coastal
Pro ce ss e s
Teacher:

Date: Nov. 22-26, 2021

 COAST-Background

Coastal environments around the Caribbean vary in appearance and processes but
have some common features. The environment of most coasts is dynamic
(constantly changing) in nature, but others are more stable. The nature of coastline
is dependent on various factors, such as past tectonic processes, rock structure,
slope of the land, and the energy of waves that strike the shore.
Who can name the most BEACHES in Jamaica?

You have 20
seconds!!
 Key Terms
Coast: Zone of interaction between the sea and the land, where waves, sea
currents and winds act on the land.
Beach: Feature formed by deposition of sand, gravel and pebbles on a wave-cut
platform.
Fetch: The distance of open sea over which the wind (which creates the wave)
blows before a wave strikes the coast.
Crest: The highest part of a wave.
Trough: The lowest part of a wave.
Swash: The movement of water up the shore.
Backwash: The movement of the water as it is pulled back towards the sea due
to gravity.
Wave Frequency: Rate per minute at which waves break on shore.
Wave Height: Distance between the crest and trough.
Wave Length: Distance between two consecutive crests.
Angle of wave crest: Direction at which waves approach the shore.
 WAVES
What are waves?

Waves are the oscillating movement of the sea as wind blows over the water. There are
two types
Of waves: CONSTRUCTIVE & DESTRUCTIVE.

What causes waves?

Waves are most commonly formed by friction as the wind blows over the surface of the
sea. They can also be formed by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions or underwater landslides.
These events are rare but can lead to the formation of devastating tsunami.

TSUNAMI
In 2004, a massive earthquake triggered giant tsunami waves that swept across the Indian
ocean killing 240,000 persons. In 2011, a massive earthquake in North-East Japan
triggered tsunami waves that killed over 16,000 persons and disrupted the supply of
nuclear energy.
 WAVES
How waves break
• They start out having a circular orbit as they travel at sea with prevailing
winds carrying them forward, but then the orbit becomes more elliptical
since there is resistance to the wave approaching the shore.

• The elliptical orbit becomes more stretched the further the wave travels up
the shore.

• The wave eventually breaks and swashes up the beach.

Parts of a Wave
 CONSTRUCTIVE WAVES

Constructive waves are low but powerful waves that surge up the beach when
the
 CONSTRUCTIVE WAVES
Constructive waves are low but powerful waves that surge up the beach when
they break.
• Their swash is much more powerful than their backwash, much of which
percolates through the beach as the water flows back to the sea.
• Constructive waves are created by storms many miles away from the coast
and they travel fast across the ocean.
• They are all ‘constructive’ waves because they transport beach material to
the top of the beach, thereby constructing it.
CONSTRUCTIVE WAVES
 DESTRUCTIVE WAVES
Destructive waves are essentially the opposite to constructive waves.
• They are taller and tend to crash down onto a beach rather than surging up
the beach.
• There is little swash but backwash is powerful. This causes erosion of the
lower beach, hence the term ‘destructive’.
• Destructive waves are usually formed during local storms that are centred
close to the coast.
DESTRUCTIVE WAVES
 Summary Table

CONSTRUCTIVE DESTRUCTIVE

Long wave length 100m Short wave length 20m

Low waves (little height) < 1m Great vertical extent (high) > 1m

Less frequency per minute (< Great frequency per minute (>
12/min) 12/min)

Constructive to land (spreads Destructive to land (removes

material) material)

Stronger wash, weaker backwash Stronger backwash, weaker swash

 Coastal Processes
Coastal Erosion
Wave action is an important agent of erosion. There are four (4) processes of
coastal erosion:
Corrasion/Abrasion: The scrubbing action of waves with sand and other fine
material on rocks.
Hydraulic action: The powerful effect of water in cracks and fissures, eroding
rocks through compression.
Solution: The dissolving of soluble rock, such as limestone.
Attrition: The break-up of rocks that bounce and strike against each other as
they move along the coast.
WATCH ME PLEASE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OakY1B3TQAo&ab_channel=MrsGeography
 Landforms of Coastal Erosion
Headlands & Bays
Cliffs along the coastline do not erode at the same pace. When a stretch of
coastline is formed from different types of rock, headlands and bays can form.

Bands of soft rock such as clay and sand are weaker therefore they can be
eroded quickly. This process forms bays.
A bay is an inlet of the sea where the land curves inwards, usually with a beach.
Hard rock such as chalk is more resistant to the processes of erosion.

When the softer rock is eroded inwards, the hard rock sticks out into the sea,
forming a headland.
Landforms of Coastal Erosion
Headlands & Bays
 Landforms of Coastal Erosion
Cliffs and wave-cut platforms
Cliffs are shaped through erosion and weathering. Soft rock erodes quickly and
forms gentle sloping cliffs, whereas hard rock is more resistant and forms steep
cliffs.

A wave-cut platform is a wide gently-sloping surface found at the foot of a

cliff.

A wave-cut platform is formed when the following occurs:

1. The sea attacks the base of the cliff between the high and low water mark.
2. A wave-cut notch is formed by erosional processes such as abrasion and
hydraulic action - this is a dent in the cliff usually at the level of high tide.
3. As the notch increases in size, the cliff becomes unstable and collapses,
leading to the retreat of the cliff face.
4. The backwash carries away the eroded material, leaving a wave-cut
platform.
5. The process repeats. The cliff continues to retreat.
Landforms of Coastal Erosion
Cliffs and wave-cut platforms
 Landforms of Coastal Erosion
Caves, arches, stacks and stumps
Caves, arches, stacks and stumps are erosional features that are commonly
found on a headland.
1. Cracks are widened in the headland through the erosional processes of
hydraulic action and abrasion.
2. As the waves continue to grind away at the crack, it begins to open up to
form a cave.
3. The cave becomes larger and eventually breaks through the headland to
form an arch.
4. The base of the arch continually becomes wider through further erosion, until
its roof becomes too heavy and collapses into the sea. This leaves a stack
(an isolated column of rock).
Landforms of Coastal Erosion
Caves, arches, stacks and stumps
 Landforms of Coastal Erosion
WATCH ME PLEASE!

Wave cut notch and wave cut platform

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kOObcXpvUuY&ab_channel=MrsGeography
Headland and Bay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q2WJVBcYYyg&ab_channel=MrsGeography
Caves, arches, stacks and stumps:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UgvgfneoacM&ab_channel=MrsGeography
 Coastal Transport & Deposition
Coastal Transportation: The movement of sediment up and down the beach
and along the coastline by waves, tides and offshore currents.
 Coastal Transport & Deposition
The processes seen in the diagram usually operate at the same time, moving
particles of different sizes. Small particles will be picked up and suspended in the
water whereas larger particles will be rolled or bounced along the seabed.
The movement of sediment is also affected by the direction of the approaching
wave.
• If a wave approach the coast head on, sediment will simply be moved up and
down the beach (due to swash and backwash).
• If a wave approach the coast at an angle, sediment will move in a zig-zag
pattern along the beach. This is called long-shore drift. It will often result
in a build-up of sediment at one end of the beach.
WATCH ME PLEASE!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0stlMiY5-0&ab_channel=MrsGeography
Coastal Transport & Deposition
Longshore Drift
 Coastal Transport & Deposition

Deposition: occurs when the velocity (speed of flow) of the water is reduced
and the sediment can no longer be carried or moved by the sea. This commonly
occurs in sheltered areas, for example in a bay.
 Landforms of Coastal Deposition

Beaches are made up from eroded material that has been transported from
elsewhere and then deposited by the sea. For this to occur, waves must have
limited energy, so beaches often form in sheltered areas like bays. Beaches are
the most common and widespread landforms of coastal deposition.

Sandy beaches are usually found in bays where the water is shallow and the
waves have less energy. Pebble beaches often form where cliffs are being
eroded, and where there are higher energy waves.
 Landforms of Coastal Deposition
A cross-profile of a beach is called the beach profile. The beach profile has lots
of ridges called berms. They show the lines of the high tide and the storm tides.
A sandy beach typically has a gentle sloping profile, whereas a shingle beach
can be much steeper.
 Landforms of Coastal Deposition
Spits
A spit is an extended stretch of sand or shingle jutting out into the sea from the
land. Spits occur when there is a change in the shape of the landscape or there
is a river mouth.

This is how spits are formed:

1. Sediment is carried by longshore drift.
2. When there is a change in the shape of the coastline, deposition occurs. A
long thin ridge of material is deposited. This is the spit.
3. A hooked end can form if there is a change in wind direction.
4. Waves cannot get past a spit, therefore the water behind a spit is very
sheltered. Silts are deposited here to form salt marshes or mud flats.
Landforms of Coastal Deposition
Spits
 Landforms of Coastal Deposition
Bars
A bar is a long narrow deposit of sand or shingle that usually forms parallel to
the coast. Most bars are only exposed during low tides.
Sometimes a spit can grow across a bay, and joins two headlands together
forming a bar. They can trap shallow lakes behind the bar, these are known as
lagoons. Lagoons do not last forever and may be filled up with sediment.
(Example Blue lagoon in Portland, Jamaica).
There are two (2) main types of bar:
1. Baymouth bar
2. Barrier bar
 Landforms of Coastal Deposition

Baymouth bar
A baymouth bar is a deposit of sand or shingle that forms across a bay, often
trapping a freshwater lake or lagoon behind it.
Barrier bar
An offshore barrier bar is a narrow sand or shingle deposit that runs parallel to
the coast. It is usually only exposed at low tide. The Miami suburb of Miami
beach in the USA has been developed on an offshore bar now connected to the
mainland by several major bridges. In the Caribbean, two bars along the coast of
St. Thomas, Jamaica enclose a lagoon known as the Yallahs Pond.
Landforms of Coastal Deposition

Barrier bar & Baymouth bar

 Landforms of Coastal Deposition
Tombolos
A tombolo is a spit connecting an island to the mainland. An example of a
tombolo is Chesil Beach, which connects the Isle of Portland to the mainland of
the Dorset coast.
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