COASTS
coasts - the syllabus
The littoral zone is the area between high water mark and low water mark (from the Latin word 'litus' meaning shore)
Coastal environments
The coastal system –
constructive and destructive waves, tides, sediment sources and cells.
Coastal processes –
marine erosion, transportation and deposition; land-based sub-aerial weathering,
mass movement and runoff.
Landforms of erosion: headlands and bays, blow holes,
arches and stacks, cliffs and wave cut platforms. Landforms of
deposition – beaches and associated features: berms, runnels
and cusps, spits, bars, dunes and salt marshes.
Case study of coastal erosion – specifi c physical
and human cause(s) and its physical and socio-economic consequences.
Sea level change
– eustatic and isostatic change.
Coastlines of submergence and emergence and associated landforms. Impact
of present and
predicted sea level increase.
Case study of coastal flooding – specific physical
and human cause(s) and its physical and socio-economic consequences.
Coastal protection objectives and management strategies
– hard engineering: sea walls, revetments, rip rap, gabions, groynes
and barrages. Soft engineering: beach nourishment, dune regeneration,
marsh creation, land use/activity management.
Case studies of two contrasting areas – one where
hard engineering has been dominant and one where soft engineering has
been dominant. To investigate issues relating to costs and benefits of
schemes, including the potential for sustainable management.
Classic headland/bay formation at Mwnt, Cardiganshire
Sea, old sculptor, carves from the western ramparts
Stack and cave and skerry,
Sweep harpist, with sagas of salt and stone.
George Mackay Brown
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