Coast and its agent that change coasts

• A zone where land and sea meet is called a coast.

• Agents that change coast:
• Action of waves
• Current Wind
• People and the growth of corals
Waves in Action
• Blowing winds across seas cause rising and falling of water surfaces, these rises
and falls are called waves.
• Crest: Highest point of wave
• Trough: Lowest point of wave
• Wave height: The vertical distance between crest and trough
Waves Energy
• Wave Energy depends on 2 factors:
• Wind speed: The higher the wind speed, the higher the wave energy
• Fetch: It’s the distance of open water over which the wind blows. The longer
the fetch, the higher the wave energy.
The breaking of waves – Swash and Backwash
• The frictions between waves and sea bed causes waves to slow down, as a
result, slow waves are pushed by waves behind which increase the height of
waves and make steep. Too steep waves move forward and collapse, finally
break.
• These waves trap air and form foam. This foamy water rushes on coast is called
swash. It carries materials up the coast.
• The water flows back to the sea because of gravitational pull and friction is
called backwash. It carries materials back to the sea.
Constructive and Destructive Waves

Constructive Waves Destructive Waves

• It deposits materials on • It removes materials from the

coast coast
• Low energy waves • High energy waves
• Swash is more powerful than • Backwash is more powerful
backwash than swash
• Coast is built up over time • Coast is eroded away over time

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 Eroding the Coast
• Corrasion: Materials carried by waves are thrown repeatedly against a coast
consequently erode it.
• Attrition: Materials carried by waves collide with one another, eventually, break
into pieces and become smoother and rounded over time.
• Solution: Water in the waves causes chemical reaction with the soluble minerals
in the rocks and dissolves with them. For instance, Limestone reacts with sea
water and get dissolved. Gradually the coast also gets eroded.
• Hydraulic Action: Waves hit the coast and make the rocks weak, the water and
air infiltrate and create pressure which causes the rocks to expand with more
force, as a result, erosion.
Erosional Features
• Cliffs and Wave Cut Platform: Cliff, a steep rock face, gently sloping rock
surface which extends towards sea from the foot of a cliff is called wave-cut
platform. The four steps of wave cut platforms are:
• i. Wave erosion along with a weak line produces a cut called notch.
• ii. The notch is further eroded and forms a cave.
• iii. Further erosion causes the overhanging part to collapse into the sea leaving
the cliff behind.
• iv. Cliff move back or retreat inland, overtime, a wave cut platform is formed.
Headland and Bay
• Headland: The part of the land projects with a steep rock face into the sea is
called headland. A headland is formed because of resistant rocks which are less
easily eroded by the waves of the sea.
• Bay: The wide curved land along the coast encloses the sea is called bay. A bay
is formed because of less resistant rocks which are more easily eroded by the
waves of the sea.
Notch, Cave, Arch and Stack
• Notch: Wave erosion along a line of weakness on the headland and forms a
notch.
• Cave: A hollow with an opening in a mass of rock is called a cave. When notch
is further eroded it forms a cave.
• Arch: A bridge of rock above an opening is called an arch. When a cave is
continuously eroded until a cut through the headland and forms an arch.
• Stack: A pillar of rock left behind after an arch collapsed is called a stack.
Further erosion of the arch causes it to collapse leaving behind and forms a
stack.

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 Longshore Drift
• Waves hits the coast at the same angle similar to swash which deposits
sediment. Then backwash moves those sediments to seawards at the right
angle.
• The same sediment is again carried to the coast by swash again as it was done
before at the same angle. A zig-zag movement of sediment moves along the
beach.
• Longshore current also functions as a factor and causes longshore drift besides
this zig-zag movement.
• The movement of sediment along the coast when waves approach the coast at
the same angle is called longshore drift.

Deposition of Coast
When does deposition occur?
It happens mostly in 3 conditions:
1. Constructive waves: more powerful swash than backwash, therefore, more
materials are deposited than washed away.
2. Sheltered from prevailing wind: bays are sheltered from direct wave action by
headlands, therefore, materials deposited on bays.
3. Waves carrying more materials than transported away: during storm, more
materials are eroded away but when the storm subsidies, larger amount of materials
are carried by waves than transported away.

Depositional Features
Beaches: When deposited materials are carried by waves and accumulated in a zone
along a coast, a beach is formed.
In a beach, finer materials are found nearer to the sea and coarser materials are
found further inland because swash carries materials up the beach and backwash
carries the finer materials near the sea leaving the heavier materials inland.
Offshore bar: When a long narrow ridge of deposited materials are found parallel to
coast, that is an offshore bar.
Friction between gently sloping waves and sea bed causes waves to break at some
distance from the coast. Over time, a ridge of sand forms parallel to coast, therefore,
offshore bar is formed. As a result, a body of water is partially or completely cut off
from the open sea by the offshore bar which is called a lagoon.
Spit: A long narrow ridge of deposited materials which is extended from main land to
the sea is called a spit.

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Tombolo: A spit may connect to a nearby island and can form a tombolo.
Forming of tombolo:
1. Longshore drift transports materials along the coast.
2. The deposited materials accumulate above the water and form a spit.
3. It continues to grow as the deposition continues.
4. Finally, joins a nearby island and forms a tombolo.

Coastal Dune: A ridge of sand piled up by the wind on the coast is called a coastal
dune.
It happens when there is large supply of dry sand and it occurs from prevailing wind
which blows and pile up the sand further inland. Over time it may be covered with
shrubs and grass and extend.

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