Chapter 16

The Coast and

Coral Reefs

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Coast
Zone of interaction between the sea and the land
Where waves, sea currents and winds act on the land

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Zonation of the coast

1. High tide shoreline

Level reached during high tide

2. Low tide shoreline

Level reached during the lowest tide

3. Coastline

Highest level reached by storm waves

Beyond the high tide shoreline

4. Offshore

Zone submerged below the low tide shoreline

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

5. Foreshore

Zone between the low tide and high tide shorelines

6. Backshore

Zone between the high tide shoreline and the coastline

7. Beach

Feature formed by deposition of sand, gravel and pebbles on

a wave-cut platform

8. Berm

Raised part of the beach on which vegetation often grows

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Agents of coastal change

1. Winds

Main agent of coastal change

Transport sand and deposit it along the coast
Generate waves as they blow across the water surface

2. Currents

Bodies of water moving through the sea in a certain direction

either horizontally or vertically
Currents formed when waves approach the coast at an angle
and break obliquely against the coast are called longshore
currents

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

3. Swash

Advance of sea water up a beach after the breaking of a

wave

4. Backwash

Return flow of sea water down the beach following the swash

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Parts of a wave
Crest : The highest part of a wave
Trough : The lowest part of a wave
Wave height : The vertical distance between the crest
and the trough
Wave length : The distance between two consecutive
wave crests

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Wave energy
Depends on the size of the wave
The size of the wave increases as the speed of the
wind increases
The greater the expanse of water over which the wind
blows (termed fetch), the larger the wave

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Wave action
Water particles move in a circular path within a wave
As a wave approaches the shallow waters near the
shore, the wave path becomes more oval-shaped and
the wave length decreases
Due to friction between the wave and the sea bed, the
wave slows down
The waves behind move at a faster speed and push
against the preceding wave
As a result, the wave height increases while the wave
length decreases
The waves eventually break

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

When a wave breaks, the crest is thrown forward and

crashes against the shore
The water rushes up the shore as swash, carrying with
it sediments which may be deposited on the shore
Gravity pulls the swash back to the sea as backwash
Materials are carried back to the sea with the backwash

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Constructive waves
Waves that result in deposition of materials
When the swash is stronger than the backwash
Occur on gently-sloping beaches
When they break, they are called spilling breakers

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Destructive waves

Waves that encourage erosion

Materials on the beach are carried into the sea by the stronger
backwash
Occur on beaches with steep slopes
Waves break violently as plunging breakers

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Constructive Waves

Destructive Waves

Long wave length

Short wave length

Low wave height

High wave height

Spill over when breaking

Plunge over when breaking

Common on gently-sloping shores

Common on steep coastal slopes

Deposit on the coast

Erode the coast

Less than ten waves breaking

per minute

More than ten waves breaking

per minute

Characteristics of constructive and destructive waves

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Processes of wave erosion

1. Hydraulic action

Repeated crashing of waves against the coast

The rock structure weakens and the rocks break down

2. Cavitation

Breaking waves enter the cracks and joints in the rocks

The water traps and compresses the air within the joints
The compressed air exerts pressure on the cracks and joints
When the waves return to the sea, the pressure is released
and the air expands
Repeated contraction and expansion of the air enlarges the
cracks and joints
The rocks eventually break into smaller fragments

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

3. Solution (corrosion)

Rocks may contain water-soluble minerals such as calcium

carbonate
When these minerals dissolve upon contact with sea water,
pores are left in the rocks
Over time, the rocks weaken and disintegrate

4. Abrasion (corrasion)

Rock fragments carried by the water are thrown against the

coast, breaking up the coastal rocks

5. Attrition

Rock particles carried by the water collide with each other,

becoming smaller, smoother and rounder particles

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Factors affecting marine erosion

1. Hardness of the rocks

Less resistant rocks are eroded faster

2. Structure of the rocks

Rocks with more lines of weakness such as joints are eroded more
rapidly

3. Wave energy

Stormy weather causes more erosion as the waves are bigger due
to the strong winds
Larger waves usually have stronger backwash and more erosive
energy

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

4. Human action

In some places, seawalls

and breakwaters have
been built to slow down
coastal erosion
Structures to slow down
sea erosion

5. Time

Older rocks are more eroded since they have been exposed
to wave action longer than more recent rocks.
The duration of a storm affect the amount of erosion

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Landforms caused by marine erosion

1. Notches, cliffs and wave-cut platforms

Waves act on a line of weakness on the rock surface through

the processes of hydraulic action and abrasion
This line of weakness enlarges to become a notch
Further erosion enlarges the notch into a cave

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

The roof of the cave eventually collapses and a steep cliff is

formed
At the cliff base is a flat terrace called a wave-cut platform
The wave-cut platform will extend farther inland as the cliff
retreats

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

2. Blowholes and sea inlets

Waves pounding on a sea cave trap air in the cracks and

joints of the rocks
The compressed air exerts pressure on the cracks and joints
When the waves retreat, the air expands
Over time, the rocks are broken down and an opening called
a blowhole is formed at the roof of the cave
The blowhole may
enlarge until the cave
collapses, resulting in a
deep, long and narrow
inlet called a geo

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

3. Headlands and bays

Develop along coasts with alternate bands of resistant and

less resistant rocks
The resistant rocks are eroded more slowly and protrude into
the sea to form headlands
The less resistant rocks form bays between the headlands
Can also develop when destructive waves erode along lines
of weakness in rocks to form bays

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Headland
and bay

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Wave refraction occurs in areas where

there are headlands and bays
Waves concentrate their energy on the
headlands by curving in on them
At the bays, waves curve
out, resulting in wave
energy being dispersed
and thus encouraging
deposition
Deposition in the
bay results in a
straighter shoreline

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

4. Caves, arches, stacks and stumps

Waves attack lines of weakness in rocks along the base of

the headland cliff to form notches
Over time, the notches enlarge to become caves
Continued erosion of caves on two sides of the same
headland cuts through the headland, creating an arch
A

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

An arch

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

The arch widens and the roof eventually collapses

This leaves an isolated pillar known as a stack
The stack is gradually eroded down into a stump
Arch collapses

Stack
Stump

Notch

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

A coast in Bathsheba, Barbados, showing typical coastal

features like stacks, stumps and cliff

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Wave transportation and deposition

Occurs mainly through longshore drift along the coast
When waves approach the shore at an angle, the swash rushes up
the shore diagonally, carrying sediment up the shore
The backwash brings
sediment back into the
sea
As a result, sediment
is moved in a zig-zag
manner along the
shore

Beach

Longshore drift
Swash
zone

Direction of wind

Swash
Backwash
Movement of material by longshore
current

Breaker
zone

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Landforms caused by wave deposition

1. Beaches

Accumulation of rock debris and sediment on or along a wave-cut platform

Constructive waves deposit materials on the coast
Coarser materials
are deposited
farther inland
while finer
materials are
found nearer
the sea

A cobblestone beach at
Georgetown, St. Vincent

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

2. Spits

Long, narrow low-lying strips of sand and shingle

projecting from the shore towards the sea

Formation of a spit

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

3. Bars

Narrow ridges of deposited material lying away from and

parallel to the coast (off-shore bar)
A spit may grow across an estuary, a lagoon or a bay to
become a bar (bay-bar)

4. Tombolos

Formed when a spit or

a bar extends to join
an offshore island

Recurved spit
Nariva River
The Cocal Spit in Mayaro,
Trinidad

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Causes of marine erosion

1. Wave action and longshore drift

Erosion occurs when the amount of materials deposited is

less than the amount carried away
Large storm waves cause coastal erosion which can lead to
long-term loss of sediments or temporary redistribution of
sediments
Destructive waves erode the beach by carrying materials out
to sea, whereas constructive waves increase the size of the
beach by depositing materials on it
Longshore drift moves sediments from one part of the coast
to another part farther down the coastline

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

2.

Rock structure and strength

3.

Rocks with joints and fractures are eroded faster

Less resistant rocks such as limestone are more vulnerable to erosion

Natural hazards

Hurricanes, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes can cause dramatic

changes in coastlines
They can destroy coastal features

Changes to Coconut Beach (Dominica) during the 1995 hurricane season

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

4. Atmospheric processes

Onshore winds pick up sediments and move them up the beach to form sand dunes
Rain helps to carry sediments down to the beach

5. Human actions and interference

Dam construction and river channelisation reduce the amount of sand that reaches
the shore
Humans sometimes remove beach sand as raw material for the construction industry

Building groynes is one way

humans can interfere in
coastal formation

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Coastal management
1. Groynes

Structures built out from the shore and into the sea
Constructed at a right angle to the sea
Effective in preventing longshore drift from moving sediments
from one point to another farther along the coastline
While they protect one part of the coast from erosion, they
contribute to erosion of the beach behind them by cutting
off the supply of sediments to the beach

2. Replenishing the beach

Sand is sometimes added artificially to badly eroded

beaches
The sand is taken from external sources

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

3.

Seawalls

Walls constructed on the inland part of the coast to deflect

oncoming waves
Built parallel to the coast
Usually made of hard rocks or concrete
Can be sloping or vertical
May cause erosion in the long run
The energy of the backwash is reflected from the wall and
erodes the beach materials beneath and in front of the
wall
Scouring occurs at the base of the seawall, weakening it

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

4. Breakwaters

Structures built either offshore or projecting out into the sea

from the shore to dissipate the energy of oncoming waves
Made of rocks or concrete
Can be fixed or floating
The erosive energy of oncoming waves is concentrated on
the breakwater
Materials are deposited
behind the breakwater
The nearby unprotected
section of the coast stops
receiving fresh supplies
of depositional materials
and becomes more
vulnerable to erosion
A breakwater protecting the coast

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Case study: Beach

erosion in Barbados

The beaches are an important

source of income
They are protected by coral reefs
surrounding most parts of
Barbados
But the reefs are fast
disappearing
Beach erosion is aggravated by
hurricanes
The government has taken steps
to protect the beaches
Beach enhancement and
stabilisation works were carried
out between 1991 and 1995 on
Rockley (Christ Church) and
Weston (St James)

10km

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Case study: Beach erosion in Barbados

Coral limestone being undercut at Oistins, Barbados

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

How to describe coastal

scenery
Trend or direction, e.g. N-S
Shape, e.g. straight, gently
undulating or deeply indented
Variations in height, e.g. highland
or lowland
Is it broken by river mouths?
Erosional features, e.g. stacks

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

How to describe coastal

scenery
Transportation as evidenced by longshore
drift accumulating sediment on one side of
groyne
Deposition features such as spits, bars and
deltas
Offshore features such as cays and coral reefs
Vegetation such as mangrove
Human features such as seawalls, wave
breakers and groynes

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Corals
Made up of the limestone skeletons of tiny marine
organisms called coral polyps
Conditions for the growth of coral polyps
Sea temperature between 20C and 30C
Shallow sea water less than 70m deep
Clear salt water
Polyps thrive on the seaward side of coral reefs where
waves and currents bring an abundant supply of
oxygen and food
Extensive coral formations develop between latitudes
30N and 30S, on the eastern side of land masses
where there are warm currents

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Origins of Corals
Several theories proposed
Subsidence of islands proposed by Charles Darwin
Coral growth extends to surface as island
subsides
Wider and deeper lagoon results
Continued subsidence results in island being
completely submerged
Atoll (a horseshoe-shaped reef) remains
Island subsidence caused by volcanoes becoming
extinct

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Types of coral reefs

1. Fringing reef

A narrow coral platform separated from the coast by a

shallow lagoon

2. Barrier reef

A coral platform separated from the coast by a deep wide

lagoon

3. Atoll

A circular coral reef which

encloses a lagoon

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Coral reef structure

Most reefs are fairly narrow
The tops lie near to low tide level
They are steep on the seaward side
On the landward
side, sand is
deposited by the
breaking waves
Plants readily
inhabit these
sand deposits
Cross-section of a coral
reef

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Coral reefs in the Caribbean

Coral reefs have declined significantly
Coral cover decreased from more than 50% in 1977 to
10% in 2001, a total loss of 80%
Reefs at Risk project (2004) found that 64% of
Caribbean reefs were being threatened by high levels
of human activities
The reefs in eastern and southern Caribbean, the
Greater Antilles, Florida Keys, Yucatan and the
Mesoamerican Barrier Reef are under threat
Though natural factors also influence reef development,
humans are the main culprits responsible for destroying
the coral reefs of the wider Caribbean

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Natural factors
Hurricanes destroy coral reefs and the organisms that
live there
Natural predators such as the crown-of-thorns starfish
reduce the population of coral polyps
Upwelling of warm water may raise sea water
temperatures and inhibit reef development

A Crown-of-Thorns starfish in
the midst of corals

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

Human factors
1. Pollution

Land-based sources of pollution and sediments threaten

35% of the reefs
Waste materials from factories and holiday resorts pollute the
sea water
Pesticides washed off farms contaminate coral colonies
Pollution from ships threatens 15% of the reefs
Areas under threat are Jamaica, Hispaniola, Puerto Rico, the
high islands of the Lesser Antilles, Belize, Costa Rica and
Panama

Chapter 16: The Coast and Coral Reefs

2. Over-fishing

As the worlds population increases, so does the demand for

food, including seafood
Over-fishing in reefs may result in algae blooms which inhibit
the growth of corals

3. Coastal developments and activities

Coastal developments disrupt currents and cause sediment

damage to the fragile corals
These include the reclamation of reef areas to build airports
and the development of marinas, groynes and causeways
Recreational activities such as boating, windsurfing,
waterskiing and diving in reef areas also damage corals by
stirring up sediments, thus blocking out sunlight