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A ring-shaped group of coral islands that are surrounded by deep ocean water and that enclose a shallow lagoon. |
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The seaward rush of water down a beach that occurs with a receding wave.
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A long, narrow island that parallels a shoreline. |
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A long, narrow coral or carbonate reef that runs parallel to the main coast but is separated from it by a wide lagoon. |
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The part of a coast that is washed by waves or tides, which cover it with sediments of various sizes and composition, such as sand or pebbles. |
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A blowout forms when a patch of protective vegetation is lost, allowing strong winds to "blow out" sand and form a depression.
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The erosion of soil as a consequence of sand and dust and loose rocks being removed by the wind. |
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A closely packed layer of rock fragments concentrated in a layer along the Earth's surface by the deflation of finer particles. |
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A usually asymmetrical mound or ridge of sand that has been transported and deposited by wind. Dunes form in both arid and humid climates.
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A dust storm or sandstorm is a meteorological phenomenon common in arid and semi-arid regions and arises when a gust front passes or when the wind force exceeds the threshold value where loose sand and dust are removed from the dry surface. Particles are transported by saltation and suspension, causing soil erosion from one place and deposition in another. |
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Often called the fetch length, is a term for the length of water over which a given wind has blown. It is used in geography and meteorology and is usually associated with coastal erosion. |
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A deep, steep-walled, U-shaped valley formed by erosion by a glacier and submerged with seawater. |
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A reef that forms against or near an island or continental coast and grows seaward, sloping sharply toward the sea floor. Fringing reefs usually range from 0.5 to 1.0 or more kilometers in width. |
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A lagoon is a body of comparatively shallow salt or brackish water separated from the deeper sea by a shallow or exposed sandbank, coral reef, or similar feature. Thus, the enclosed body of water behind a barrier reef or barrier islands or enclosed by an atoll reef is called a lagoon. |
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A wind-blown sediment of silt grade; often the result of winnowing of fines from glacial outwash plains. |
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longshore current [image] |
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An ocean current that flows close and almost parallel to the shoreline and is caused by the rush of waves toward the shore.
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Time interval between
the passage of successive crests. |
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The process by which a wave approaching the shore changes direction due to slowing of those parts of the wave that enter shallow water first. Waves are concentrated at headlands, causing erosion, and spread out in bays to deposit beaches.
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A strong, rapid, and brief current that flows out to sea, moving perpendicular to the shoreline. Swimmers can avoid being swept out to sea by swimming parallel to the shore. |
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A shoal or sandbar is a long and narrow (linear) landform within or extending into a body of water, typically composed of sand, silt or small pebbles. Bars can appear in the sea, in a lake, or in a river. |
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A cliff is a significant vertical, or near vertical, rock exposure. Cliffs are formed as erosion landforms due to the processes of erosion and weathering that produce them. Cliffs are common on coasts, in mountainous areas, escarpments and along rivers. |
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The water that washes up on shore after an incoming wave has broken. This action will cause sand and other light particles to be transported up the beach. |
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A vast sea wave caused by the sudden dropping or rising of a section of the sea floor following an earthquake. Tsunami may be as much as 30 meters high and 200 kilometers long, may move as fast as 250 kilometers per hour, and may continue to occur for as long as a few days. |
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A stone that has been flattened and sharpened by wind abrasion. Ventifacts are commonly found strewn across a desert floor. |
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They usually result from wind, and are also referred to as wind waves. Some waves can travel thousands of miles before reaching land. They range in size from small ripples to huge rogue waves. There is little actual forward motion of individual water particles in a wave, despite the large amount of energy it may carry forward.
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The distance between two successive crests or two successive troughs. The longer the fetch, the longer the wave length that can be generated. Tsunami wavelengths can be hundreds of kilometers long. |
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