GLY150: INTRODUCTION TO OCEANOGRAPHY University of North Carolina Wilmington

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Lecture Outline

Shoreline Processes

I. Anatomy of the Shoreline

• General Terminology
  • Beach
  • Nearshore
  • Offshore
  • Foreshore
  • Shore
  • Coast
  • Backshore
• Source of beach sediments
  • Rivers
  • Marine organisms
  • Erosion of existing shoreline
  • Longshore transport
• Beach Slope
  • Determined by sediment particle size
    • coarse = steep slope
    • fine = gentle slope

II.  Erosional Shorelines

• Erosion by wave refraction
• Rate of erosion
  • Tidal range
  • Shoreline composition
  • Exposure to open ocean
• Features of erosional-type shorelines
  • Sea caves
  • Sea stacks,
  • Sea arches,
  • Wave-cut platforms, cliffs

III.  Depositional Shorelines

• Features of depositional-type shorelines
  • Spits
  • Barrier islands
  • Tombolos
  • Bay barriers
  • Deltas
• Longshore current and drift

IV. Changes in Sealevel and the Shoreline

• Tectonic and isostatic changes
  • Local affect
  • Glacial rebound
  • Compressional tectonics
• Eustatic changes
  • Global affect
  • Rising over the past 18,000 yrs
  • Melting of ice caps
  • Thermal expansion of oceans
  • change in ocean basin capacity

V. Living with the Shoreline

• Atlantic-NC coast
  • Passive margin
  • Slowly subsiding
  • Sea level rising
• Developmental policy & regulations
  • National Flood Insurance Program
  • CAMA
  • Coastal Barrier Rezoning Act

• Addressing coastal erosion
  • armoring - jetties, groins and seawalls
  • (re)nourishment
  • relocation

Some helpful links relevant to these lectures:
North Carolina Division of Coastal Management
Coastal Erosion: A Case Study
Hurricane Impacts on the Coast
Coastal Wave Visualizations

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