Bio 4202- Coastal Zone Management

Outline the effects of waves on formation of wave dominated coastal environments with the use of examples. Ocean waves are generated by wind blowing over the ocean surface. They are one of the most powerful natural phenomena on Earth and have a significant impact on the shape of the Earths coastlines. They have been shown to generally straighten coastlines however evidence exists that the shape rocky coastline areas which are resistant to erosion. Wave dominated coastal environments are those which have had and are being changed morphologically as well as geochemically by wave and wave actions. Such environments include beaches, shore platforms, dunes, cliffs and splits Effects of Waves on the Formation of Beaches. Beaches are wave-deposited accumulations of sediment located at the shoreline. They are formed when eroded sedimentary material has been transported deposited elsewhere by wave action and long shore drift. An example of a beach is Shell Beach.

Diagram showing parts of a beach.

Effects of waves on the formation of shore platforms These (shore platforms) are rock shelves fringing the coastline between the high and low water mark. They are formed through wave action and weathering. Waves attack the base of a cliff forming a wave-cut notch. This notch increases in size causing the cliff to collapse. The backwash carries the rubble towards the sea forming a shore platform. Effects of waves on the formation of dunes Dunes (sand dunes) are piles of sand. They are present on the shoreline where fine sediment is transported by a combination of wind and wave action. Vegetation growth stabilizes this structure. Waves erode nearby cliffs and the transport the sediment particles via long shore drift. These particles are then pushed ashore or deposited on land. Effects of waves on the formation of spit A spit is an extended stretch of beach material that projects out to the sea and is connected at one end too the mainland. One example of a spit is a Spurn head. Like beaches spits are a result of sediment deposition. Spit formation is prevalent where wind blows at an angle to the coastline resulting in long shore drift. This sedimentary material is moved along the coastline by waves and subsequently deposited to form the split on accumulation of sediment.

Diagram showing a spit

Explain the influence of waves and hydrodynamics on coastal systems. Waves may have both constructive and destructive influences on coastal system. Some constructive influences include formation of beaches, dunes, sand banks etc. While some destructive ones include erosion, leeching, algal bloom, etc.When a wave breaks, water is washed up the beach - this is called the swash. Then the water runs back down the beach - this is called the backwash. In a constructive wave, the swash is stronger than the backwash while with a destructive wave, the backwash is stronger than the swash. Waves provide about half the energy to do work at the coast. By work we mean all deposition, transport and accretion of sediments. Ocean waves are generated by wind blowing over the ocean surface. The stronger the wind, the longer it blows and the longer the stretch of ocean over which it blows, the larger the waves. One important feature of ocean waves impacting the coastline is that of the long shore or littoral current. These are currents created by waves that are refracted as they reach the shoreline. The impact waves either destructive or constructive have on the environment is depend on the strength and size of the wave.Waves are a form of potential energy that can be transported across hundreds to thousands of kilometers of ocean to be released as kinetic energy when they shoal and break. Much of the force behind a wave is in waves energy that is moving rather than the water itself. Since water is a flexible medium for energy transfer, it looks like the water itself is moving. When the water molecules receive the energy, they move forward slightly and form a circular pattern. The exchange of energy between water molecules also makes the ocean crisscrossed with waves traveling in all directions. At times, these waves meet and their interaction is called interference, of which there are two types. The first occurs when the crests and troughs between two waves align and they combine. This causes a dramatic increase in

wave height. Waves can also cancel each other out though when a crest meets a trough or vice-versa.

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