Modul 19
Shoreline System
Waves, Beaches, and Coasts
Photo credit: G. Mattioli
Water Waves
• Surf
Nearshore Circulation
• Wave Refraction
• Longshore Currents
• Rip Currents
Wave Characteristics
Wave Features
• Wave height: Vertical distance between the crest and
trough of the wave.
– Wave crest: Highest point on the wave.
– Wave trough: Lowest point on the wave.
– Ocean waves range 0.3 to 5 m; can be as high as 15
m.
• Wavelength: Horizontal distance between two wave
crests or troughs.
– Ocean waves range from 40 to 400 m.
• Wave period: Time for one wavelength to pass. This is
inversely related to frequency P = 1/f.
– Ocean wave velocities range from 25 to 90 km/hr.
Orbital Motion Animation
Wave Particle Motion
Wave Interaction with Sea Floor
Oblique Waves
Wind and wave direction
Normal component
Beach parallel component
Longshore Current
Rip Currents
Rip currents: water that flows straight out to sea from the
surf zone. Travel at the surface and die out at depth.
Carry fine grained particles out of surf zone to deeper water.
Beach Terminology
Beach Features, CA
Seasons and Beach Development
Beach Seasonal Cycle Animation
Longshore Sand Movement
Longshore Drift Animation
Baymouth Bar - Russian River, CA
Spit and Bar Development Animation
Tombolo Development
Tombolo - Santa Cruz, CA
Beaches
Longshore Drift of Sediment
• Human Interference with Sand Drift
– Jetties
– Breakwaters
– Groins
• Sources of Sand on Beaches
– Deposition from rivers
– Erosion of local rocks in cliffs and headlands
– Transport from offshore regions
– Bioclastics
Sand Erosion and Deposition: Jetties
Sand Erosion and Deposition: Groins
Wave Refraction Along Irregular Coast
Focusing of wave energy causes erosion of headlands and deposition
in bays. Continued evolution results in coastal straightening.
Coasts and Coastal Features
• Erosional Coasts
• Depositional Coasts
• Drowned Coasts
• Uplifted Coasts
• Coasts Shaped by Organisms
Shoreline Straightening
Coastal Straightening Animation
Wave Cut Cliff Retreat
Seawall
Wave Cut Platform - Low Tide
Beach cliff retreats
Wave cut platform widens
Cliff Retreat & Wave Cut Platform Growth
Stacks and Arches
Depositional Coasts - Barrier Island
Barrier Island Development
Albemarle and Pamlico Sounds, NC
Barrier Islan
Infrared
Image:
vegetation
shown in
Estuaries
red
Uplifted Marine Terrace, CA
Hydrological Cycle and Glaciation
Glacial Periods:
- Low standing seas
- Ice accumulation on continents
Interglacial Periods:
- High standing seas
- Little or no ice accumulation
on continents
Image source: [Link]
Relative Sea Level Changes in NAM
Image source: [Link]
Marine Terraces and Sea Level
Image source: [Link]
Summary of Sea Level Changes
• Sea level has risen 130 m in last 15 ka due to
melting of Pleistocene glaciers.
• Initially rate was rapid, ~1.3 m/100 year, but
in last 3000 years it slowed to about 0.04
m/100 year.
• Since 1930, sea level rise has again
increased and now is ~0.24 m/100 year or
2.4 mm/yr along Atlantic and Gulf coasts.
• Suggested causes include Global Warming
due to Greenhouse gas emissions and
increased glacial melting in response.
Effects of Rising Sea Level - I
Effects of Rising Sea Level - II
Hurricane Storm Surge
Anti-clockwise
rotation in
the northen
hemisphere
Hurricane Georges - 1998
Estimated 400 deaths over entire path.
Total damage estimates are over $2 billion.
Georges Landfall - US Gulf Coast
Started as a category IV
(>150 mph winds), but
only a category II hurricane
when it made landfall!
Image source: [Link]
Mobile Alabama - Georges Storm Surge
Image source: [Link]
Georges Tide Gauge Record
Bayou LaBatre, Alabama
Some Historical Texas Storm Surges
Data from: [Link]
Galveston, TX Seawall
17 ft concrete
barrier
Note lack of
sand
seaward of
barrier