Coastal Geomorphology

Coastal geomorphology

• Coastal geography is that branch of geography, incorporating

physical and human geography, which deals with the study of
the dynamic interface between ocean and land.
 Wave action

• The waves of different strengths that

constantly hit against the shoreline
are the primary movers and shapers
of the coastline.

• The effect that waves have depends

on their strength.
 Wave action

Strong, also called destructive Constructive, weak waves are

waves occur on high energy typical of low energy beaches
beaches and are typical of and occur most during summer.
Winter. They reduce the They do the opposite to
quantity of sediment present on destructive waves and increase
the beach by carrying it out to the size of the beach by piling
.bars under the sea .sediment up onto the berm
 Wave action

Since waves rarely break onto a shore at right angles, the

upward movement of water onto the beach (swash) occurs at
an oblique angle. However, the return of water (backwash) is
at right angles to the beach, resulting in the net movement of
.beach material laterally

This movement is known as beach drift ,The endless cycle of

swash and backwash and resulting beach drift can be observed
.on all beaches
 Coastal geomorphology

 Coastal geomorphology can be formed in the form of the following:

Erosional landforms.

Depositional landforms.
Firstly
Erosional landforms
 Erosional landforms

 They are landforms which formed

due to Erosional action of waves
appeared in the following forms:

 Cliffs.
 Nothches.
 Gorge(geo).
 Sea caves.
 Sea arch.
 Sea stacks.
 Cliff
 Cliff is a significant vertical,
or near vertical, rock
exposure, cliffs are formed as
erosion landforms due to the
processes of erosion and
weathering that produce
them.

 Cliffs are common on coasts,

in mountainous areas,
escarpments and along rivers.

 Cliffs are usually formed by

rock that is resistant to
erosion and weathering.
Sedimentary rocks are most
likely to form sandstone,
limestone, chalk, and
dolomite. Igneous rocks, such
as granite and basalt also
often form cliffs.
 Notches
The base of cliff may eroded
due to action of waves
forming what is called
Notches.
Notches
 Potholes

• Marine potholes are

roughly cylindrical or bowl
shaped depressions in
shore platforms that are
ground out by the swirling
action of sand, gravel,
pebbles, and boulders
associated with wave
action.
Potholes
 ”Gorge “Geo
• A geo is an inlet, a gully or a narrow and deep cleft ”joint” in the face of
a cliff.

• Geos are common on the coastline, they are created by the wave driven
erosion of cliffs along faults and bedding planes in the rock.

• Geos may have sea caves at their heads. Such sea caves may collapse,
extending the geo, or leaving depressions inland from the geo.
”Gorge “Geo
”Gorge “Geo
Sea cave, Sea arch and Sea stack
 Sea caves
• A sea cave, also known as a
littoral cave, is a type of cave
formed primarily by the wave
action of the sea. The primary
process involved is erosion.

• Sea caves are found

throughout the world, actively
forming along present
coastlines and as relict sea
caves on former coastlines.
 Sea arch
 A natural arch or natural bridge is a natural
geological formation where a rock arch forms, with
an opening underneath.

 Most natural arches form as a narrow ridge, walled

by cliffs, become narrower from erosion, with a
softer rock stratum under the cliff-forming stratum
gradually eroding out until the rock shelters thus
formed meet underneath the ridge, thus forming
the arch.

 Natural arches commonly form where cliffs are

subject to erosion from the sea, rivers or
weathering the processes "find" weaknesses in
rocks and work on them, making them larger until
they break through.
Sea arch
Sea arch
 Sea stack
• A stack is a geological landform consisting of a steep and
often vertical column or columns of rock in the sea near a
coast, isolated by erosion.

• Stacks are formed through processes of coastal

geomorphology, which are entirely natural. Time, wind and
water are the only factors involved in the formation of a stack.

• They are formed when part of a headland is eroded by

hydraulic action, which is the force of the sea or water
crashing against the rock stacks also form when a natural
arch collapses under gravity, due to sub-aerial processes like
wind erosion.

• Stacks can provide important nesting locations for seabirds,

and many are popular for rock climbing.
Sea stack
Erosional landforms
Secondly
Depositional landforms
 Depositional
landforms
 Depositional landforms formed through
deposition processes of sediments carried
by waves appeared as following:

 Beach.
 Spits.
 Foreland.
 Tombolo.
 Barrier island.
 Estuaries.
 Salt marches.
 Mangals.
 Deltas.
 Coral reefs.
 Beach
 Beaches are the most significant accumulations of
sediments along coasts. They form in the zone
where wave processes affect coastal sediments.

 In composition, they consist of a range of organic

and inorganic particles, mostly sands or shingle or
pebbles.

 Pebble beaches are more common at middle and

high latitudes, where pebbles are supplied by
coarse glacial and per glacial debris. Sand
beaches are prevalent along tropical coasts.
Beach
  A spit or sandspit is a
deposition landform found
off coasts, at one end spits
connect to land, and extend
into the sea.
Spits and
Forelands  Forelands or cuspate spits
tend to be less protuberant
than spits, they grow out
from coasts, making them
more irregular.
Spits
Spits
Spits
Foreland
 Tombolo
Tombolo (meaning gravel beach) is a deposition
landform in which an island is attached to the mainland
.by a narrow piece of land such as a spit or bar

Once attached, the island is then known as a tied island.

Several islands tied together by bars which rise above
.the water level are called a tombolo cluster

Two tombolos can form an enclosure (called a lagoon)

.that can eventually fill with sediments
Tombolo
Tombolo
  Barrier islands, a coastal
landform and a type of
barrier system, are relatively
narrow strips of sand that
Barrier parallel the mainland coast.
islands
 They usually occur in chains,
consisting of anything from a
few islands to more than a
dozen.
Barrier islands
& Lagoons
Barrier islands
 Dunes
• Dunes form where constructive waves encourage the accumulation of
sand, and where prevailing onshore winds blow this sand inland, there
need to be obstacles for example, vegetation, pebbles and so on to trap
the moving sand grains.

• As the sand grains get trapped they start to accumulate, starting dune
formation.
 Estuary
• An estuary is a partly enclosed coastal body of
water with one or more rivers or streams flowing
into it, and with a free connection to the open
sea.

• Estuaries form a transition zone between river

environments and ocean environments and are
subject to both marine influences, such as tides,
waves, and the influx of saline water; and river
influences, such as flows of fresh water and
sediment.

 The inflow of both seawater and freshwater

provide high levels of nutrients in both the water
column and sediment, making estuaries among
the most productive natural habitats in the world.
Estuary
 Salt marshes
• A salt marsh is an tropical environment in the upper coastal intertidal
zone between land and salt water or brackish water, it is dominated by
dense stands of halophytic (salt-tolerant) plants such as herbs, grasses,
or low shrubs.

• These plants are terrestrial in origin and are essential to the stability of
the salt marsh in trapping and binding sediments.

• Salt marshes play a large role in the aquatic food web and the exporting
of nutrients to coastal waters. They also provide support to terrestrial
animals such as migrating birds as well as providing coastal protection.
Salt marshes
 Mangals
 Mangrove is a general term for a
variety of mainly tropical and
subtropical salt-tolerant trees
and shrubs inhabiting low inter-
tidal areas.

 Mangals are communities of

mangroves – shrubs and long-
lived trees and with associated
lianas, palms, and ferns – that
colonize tidal flats in the tropics,
and occur in river-dominated,
tide dominated, and wave-
dominated coastal
environments.
Mangals
 Marine deltas
• Marine deltas are formed by deposition where rivers run into the sea, so
long as the deposition rate surpasses the erosion rate, a delta will grow.

• Deltas are found in a range of coastal environments.

• Some deltas form along low-energy coasts with low tidal ranges and
weak waves, others form in high-energy coasts with large tidal ranges
and powerful waves.
Marine
delta
 • A coral reef is a ridge or mound built of the skeletal remains
of generations of coral animals, upon which grow living
coral polyps.
Coral reefs
• Reefs typically grow in shallow, clear waters of tropical and
subtropical seas.
Atoll
An atoll is a ring of coral reef and small sandy islands that encircles a shallow lagoon.
Atoll
Depositional landforms
Depositional landforms