Why did/do we live on the coast?

Edge Effect ?

Coastal Systems

Coastlines dynamic, interactive Change with time Product of their environment

Inputs Depositional processes Outputs Erosional processes

Coastal Systems
Forcing Functions
Deposition Erosion +/- Sea level +/- Energy/Reworking = Coastal geomorphology 20 feet

1. Eustatic Sea Level

2 million years 20,000 years

High stand Current

1. Sea level Global, long-term driver Eustatic sea level: Amount of water in the basin Basin volume Temperature variations Local or Relative sea level: Tectonic / isostatic adjustments Wind, storm surges, currents 410 feet Low Stand

Coasts are not in equilibrium, They are constantly changing!

Low Stand

High Stand

Coasts are not in equilibrium - What is Beachfront Property?

Chandeleur Islands

Dauphin Island

Alabama Barrier Islands

USGS

Mainland Mississippi

2. Erosional vs Depositional Coastlines

A. Erosional Coasts Dominant processes remove material Erosion > Deposition Straight shores, Cliffs, Caves, Platforms B. Depositional Coasts Dominant processes add material Deposition > Erosion Beaches, Deltas

LIDAR Images of Dauphin Island, AL

Photos from USGS

2A. Features of an erosional coastline

Sea stacks off the coast of Australia

A blowhole off the coast of Australia

Wave energy converges on headlands And diverges away from adjoining bays

www-class.unl.edu/geol101i/14_coasts.htm

Shore erosion by region

2B. Features of a depositional coastline Deposition exceeds Erosion Requires constant supply of material Ex: Beaches and Deltas

Beach material characteristics

Drivers
Loose particles Composition Source Out to 10 meters water depth 30% of the US shoreline

Beach Processes and Features

slope, source material Wave/wind conditions Features Dunes Backshore Berms Foreshore Longshore trough Longshore bar

Summer beach lower energy deposits sand

Winter beach higher energy erodes sand

Differences in summer and winter beaches

Other Beach Processes and Features

Longshore Drift Wave approach Rip Currents

www.brookdale.cc.nj.us/.../beaches/profile.html

Longshore Drift and Wave Approach

Rip Currents

www-class.unl.edu/geol101i/14_coasts.htm

Large-scale features and coastline reworking on a depositional coast

Deltas
Three external Forcing Functions shape a delta River influence Wave influence Tide influence

The balance of all three factors determine the final shape of the delta

The Mississippi River Delta

The Mississippi River Delta is wave dominated

Switching delta lobes built the coast

Formation requires low slope shelf, high river influence, low tidal influence, low wave influence
None on US east coast None on west NA and SA coasts

Alexandria

Ancient & Modern Courses of the Mississippi River

Baton Rouge Lafayette New Orleans

Resulting Ecosystem Mosaic

Response to local conditions

Lake Charles

Cocodrie 2600 B.C. - 1600 B.C. Teche 1900 B.C. - 700 B.C. St. Bernard 800 B.C. - 300 B.C. Lafourche 65 A.D. - 1300 A.D. Modern 900 A.D. - PRESENT

Coasts formed from Biological Activity: Coral Reefs

Fringing Reefs forms around island in the tropics

Glacial Moraines
Are also built out from the land

Barrier Reef Separated from land around islands or in lines along shores The Great Barrier Reef - a conglomerate of reefs, the largest structure made by living organisms Atolls Ring shaped coral reefs with no land Final phase of tectonic plates moving over a hot spot

Formation Examples

Moora Fringing Reef

Coasts formed from Biological Activity:

Mangrove Coastlines
The Great Barrier Reef

Response to local conditions Trap sediments and provide habitat

encarta.msn.com Kure Atoll

www.oceandots.com/pacific/nwhi/kure.htm

Drowned River Mouth

Estuaries
Body of water surrounded partially by land where fresh and ocean water mix

River under rising sea level

Classification of Estuaries: Drowned River Mouth Fjords Bar-Built Tectonic Reverse

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Chesapeake Bay
Glacially eroded Deep with sill at mouth

Fjord

Fjords

Bar-Built

Former low stand of sea level Low angle coastlines North Carolina Florida Gulf Coast

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Outer Banks, NC

Tectonic

Active plate Margins Coastline falls off?

www.cetialpha.com/photos/earth_fm_space/

San Francisco Bay, CA

Reverse Estuary
Minimal freshwater input High evaporation rates Higher salinity than ocean

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Characteristics of Estuaries
Amount of mixing between fresh water and salt water determined by: Shape of the estuary
Volume of river flow at the head Tidal range at the mouth

Estuaries are categorized by their circulation patterns Salt Wedge vs. Well Mixed etc.

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