COASTAL GEOGRAPHY

- Is the study of the constantly changing region between the ocean and the land,
incorporating both the physical geography and the human geography of the coast.

- It includes understanding coastal weathering processes, particularly wave action,

sediment movement and weather, and the ways in which humans interact with the
coast.
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Coastal Processes  is the wearing away of the land by the sea. This often
involves destructive waves wearing away the coast.
•Erosion There are five main processes which cause coastal
erosion. These are corrasion, abrasion, hydraulic
•Transportation action, attrition and corrosion/solution.

•Déposition
 is the movement of material in the sea and along the
coast by waves. The movement of material along the
coast is called longshore drift.

 is when eroded material is dropped by constructive

waves. It happens because wave have less energy.
Deposition creates a range of landforms.
COASTAL EROSION

• Corrasion is when waves pick up beach material (e.g. pebbles) and hurl them at the
base of a cliff.
• Abrasion occurs as breaking waves which contain sand and larger fragments erode
the shoreline or headland. It is commonly known as the sand paper effect.
• When waves hit the base of a cliff air is compressed into cracks. When the wave
retreats the air rushes out of the gap. Often this causes cliff material to break away.
This process is known as hydraulic action.
• Attrition is when waves cause rocks and pebbles to bump into each other and break
up.
• Corrosion/solution is when certain types of cliff erode as a result of weak acids in
the sea.

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WAVE ACTION AND
LONGSHORE DRIFT
- the waves of different strengths that
constantly hit against the shoreline are the
primary movers and shapers of the
coastline.

- despite the simplicity of this process, the

differences between waves and the rocks they
hit result in hugely varying shapes.

- the effect that waves have depends on their

strength.
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 Strong waves, also called destructive
waves, occur on high-energy beaches
and are typical of winter.
 They reduce the quantity of sediment
present on the beach by carrying it out
to bars under the sea.
 Constructive, weak waves are typical
of low-energy beaches and occur most
during summer.
 They do the opposite to destructive
waves and increase the size of the
beach by piling sediment up onto the
berm.
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 is the change in direction of
WAVE wave propagation due to a
change in its transmission
REFRACTION medium.

• Owing to the change of medium, the

phase velocity of the wave is
changed but its frequency remains
constant. This is most commonly
observed when a wave passes from
one medium to another at any angle
other than 0° from the normal.

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Longshore Drift (LSD)
(Also known as
Littoral Drift)
 is a geological process that consists of the
transportation of sediments (clay, silt,
sand and shingle) along a coast parallel to
the shoreline, which is dependent on
oblique incoming wind direction.

 Longshore drift is simply the sediment

moved by the longshore current. This
current and sediment movement occur
within the surf zone.
How does the sea transport
material?
Although longshore drift is the
main process of transportation
the material moves in four
different ways. These are:
Traction - large material is
rolled along the sea floor.
Saltation - beach material is
bounced along the sea floor.
Suspension - beach material is
suspended and carried by the
waves. .
Solution - material is dissolved
and carried by the water.
 Weathering
Two important classifications of
weathering processes exist –
physical and chemical weathering;
each sometimes involves a
biological component.
• Mechanical or physical weathering
involves the breakdown of rocks and
soils through direct contact with
atmospheric conditions, such as heat,
water, ice and pressure.
While physical weathering is
accentuated in very cold or very dry
environments
 is the breaking down of rocks,
soil, and minerals as well as wood
and artificial materials through
contact with the Earth's
atmosphere, water, and biological
organisms.
• Chemical weathering, involves the direct
effect of atmospheric chemicals or
biologically produced chemicals also
known as biological weathering in the
breakdown of rocks, soils and minerals.
Chemical reactions are most intense
where the climate is wet and hot
 Atmospheric processes

•Onshore winds blowing "up" the beach, pick up sand and move it up the beach to form sand
dunes.
•Rain hits the shore and erodes rocks, and carries weathered material to the shoreline to form
beaches.
•Warm weather can encourage biological processes to occur more rapidly. In tropical areas
some plants and animals protect stones from weathering, while other plants and animals
actually eat away at the rocks.
•Temperatures that vary from below to above freezing point result in frost weathering,
whereas weather more than a few degrees below freezing point creates sea ice.
COASTAL LANDFORMS TYPES
 Over time, the
interaction of
coastal processes
and an area's
geologic setting
leads to the
development of
characteristic and
dramatic coastal
landforms.

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 ROCKY COAST LANDFORM
o Fjords
o Headlands, Pocket Beaches, and
Wave Refraction
o Sea Caves
o Sea Arches and Sea Stacks
o Sea Cliffs
o Tidewater Glaciers
 SANDY LANDFORMS
o Barrier Islands
o Barrier Spits
o Beaches
o Dunes
 Delta Landforms
Where rivers provide large quantities of
sediment to the shore, estuaries are filled and
river sediments are discharged directly into the
ocean.
Tropical Coast Landforms

 Lagoon with path reefs.

• Corals are animals, but they are

stationary; their food source is
washed to them through
continuous water motions.
Corals have an associated
diverse array of reef fish, which
attract snorkelers and scuba
divers. As live corals grow atop
the skeletons of dead corals, a
coral reef is formed.
Philippines is broken up by the sea,
which gives it one of the longest
coastlines of any nation in the
world.
Coastline
 36,289 kilometers (22,549 mi)
Camiguin Island
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