Monday, February 14, 2011

Definitions for Chapter 7: Coasts

Constructive waves—small low-energy waves that deposit sand onto beaches.
Corrasion—occurs when waves crash over rock shelves and move rock and other material helping to erode the rock shelf away.
Corrosionthe actions of salt on minerals like iron that are contained in rock, weakening the rock and making it more susceptible to erosion.
Depositionthe depositing of sand and rock particles caused by wind and wave action forming features such as beaches.
Destructive waves—large waves formed by tropical cyclones and storms that erode material from beaches.
Erosion—the removal of rock and sand particles as a result of wind and wave action.
Fetch—the distance that wind travels over the ocean to form Waves.
Foredunethe closest dune to the ocean or the first dune in a sand dune system.
Hydraulic action—where waves enter cracks in rocks, air is compressed by the force of the water causing erosion and forming features such as blow holes.
Longshore drift—the process, caused by waves hitting the coast at an angle, which is responsible for moving sand along the coast.
Refractionthe bending of waves around headlands and into bays surf and swash zone—the active part of the coast in terms of erosion and deposition of sand by wave action; the surf zone is immediately adjacent to the coast and the swash zone is at the shore once the waves have broken vegetation.
Succession—the natural progression of vegetation from low-lying, salt-tolerant plants on the foredune, through to shrubs and established trees on the hind dunes.
Wave height—the vertical distance between the trough and the peak of a wave
Wavelengththe horizontal distance between waves peaks

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