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 a 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 kilometers 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

Coastal transportation is the movement of sand and pebbles along the coast, mainly due to
longshore drift. This occurs when waves hit the beach at an angle, pushing material along in
a zigzag pattern. Larger rocks roll along the seabed, smaller ones hop or bounce, and fine
particles like silt float in the water. Some materials dissolve in the water and are carried
away. The strength of the waves, the direction of the wind, and the tides all affect how
materials are moved along the coast, helping to shape beaches and other coastal features.
 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 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
ix) Stump
 i) Notch: A deep indentation at the base of a cliff due to intense wave erosion. It is also
known as wave-cut 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.
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.
iv) 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.

Formation of Cliff and Wave-cut platforms:

Cliffs are produced by the action of waves undercutting a steep rocky coast. Hydraulic action and
abrasion erode a crack on the rock and eventually the crack is enlarged to produce a notch. This
notch is further deepened inwards to produce a cave. Further undercutting by the waves cause the
roof of the cave to collapse. As the process continues, an overhanging cliff is formed.
2. Depositional 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. The size and composition of the
 materials on the beach vary greatly and may change over time according to change in
weather conditions. Generally, finer materials settle closer to the sea, while coarser
materials are deposited further inland. During calm weather, finer materials move
farther up the coast, and coarser materials stay near the sea
ii) Spit: Is a long narrow ridge of sand running out from the coast with one end attached
to the land. 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.
iii) Tombolo: 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. The is 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 blown up from the beach develops into small hills, which is
known as sand dunes. They are caused by the wind.
vi) Saltmarsh: A salt marsh is a type of marsh found in the space between land and
ocean. They are also called tidal marshes or saltings.
COASTAL MANAGEMENT OR PLANNING
There are two types of approaches to protect coasts are:
1. Hard 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.
2. Soft engineering: 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. Also involves encouraging
minimal human interference.
Hard Engineering Measures
(i) Seawalls: Sea walls can be built along the coast. These structures absorb the energy of
waves before they can erode away loose materials. Sea walls are effective in protecting
cliffs from erosion.
(ii) 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 be built with one end
attached to the coast or build away from the coast.
(iii) 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.
(iv) Gabions: Gabions are wire cages usually filled with crushed rocks. These cages are then
pilled up along the shore to prevent or reduce coastal erosion by weakening the wave
energy.
Soft Engineering measures
(i) Beach nourishment: This soft engineering measure refers to the constant replenishment
of large quantities of sand to the beach system
(ii) 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.
(iii) Planting of mangroves: mangroves, with their long, curved roots that prop up from the
soil help to trap sediments
(iv) 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,
they can be used to protect the coast.