Landforms Made by Waves and Wind

• Coastal landforms are shaped by wave action

• Mineral particles are continuously shook by waves,
eroding shoreline materials
• Waves and currents also transport materials along the
shoreline
• Beaches and barrier islands are formed by this activity
 Waves: Formation
• Waves travel along the ocean, breaking when they
reach shallow waters
• Near the shoreline, the bottom of the wave drags
against the beach floor, steeping and collapsing as a
breaker

As wave approaches the beach (1-3), it steepens (4-5) and finally

falls forward (6-7) rushing up the beach slope (8)
 Waves: Types
There are two main types of
waves:
• Constructive waves
- Build beaches carrying
material up the beach
- They have a strong swash
and a weak backwash
• Destructive waves
- Destroy beaches
- They are high and frequent
- They have a weak swash
and a strong backwash,
carrying sediments away
 Coastal Erosion
Coastal erosion is the wearing away and breaking up of
rock and beach material found along the coast

Destructive waves erode the coastline in the following

ways:
- Hydraulic action. Crashing of the waves against the
shore, damaging it. Air is compressed in the joints of
the cliffs, easing erosion.
- Abrasion. Grinding down of cliffs by rocks and sand
carried by the waves.
- Attrition. Breaking and filing of rocks and pebbles
crashing among them and wearing away their edges.
- Solution. Dissolution of rocks by acids of sea water
 Transport of Materials I
Longshore drift is the
movement of materials
along the coast. It requires
that wind blows in angle
to the shore, which
implies that waves arrive
in the same angle.
The continuous repetition
of this movements leads
to the transport of
materials along the
shoreline.
 Transport of Materials II
Added to longshore drift, there are four
other ways for the transport of materials by
currents and tidal currents.
- • Solution of minerals into the water
coming from cliffs and beaches.
• Suspension of particles carried along
Size

by the water.
• Saltation of shingles or large sand
grains, bouncing along the sea bed.
• Traction, or rolling of pebbles and
large sediment along the sea bed by
+ water.
 Deposition of Materials I

• Deposition is defined as the dropping of the seawater

load.
• This load is composed of rocks, particles and pebbles.
• Deposition occurs when the swash is stronger than the
backwash and is associated with constructive waves.
 Deposition of Materials II
Deposition is likely to
occur when:
• Waves enter an area
of shallow water
• Waves enter a
sheltered area
• There is little wind
• There is a good
supply of material
 Coastal Landforms I

Coastal erosion creates a

specific set of
landforms:
A. Cliffs
B. Wave cut
platforms
C. Wave cut notches
Coastal Landforms II

D. Headlands are
resistant
outcrops of rock
sticking out into
the sea.
E. Bays are
indents in the
coastline
between two
headlands.
 Coastal Landforms III

F. Caves
G. Arches
H. Stacks
I. Stumps
 Coastal Landforms IV
Deposition also
contributes to the
formation of
landforms
• Beaches are made of
eroded material
transported from
elsewhere. The
composition of this • Berms are the ridges found along
material is influenced the beaches
by the geology of the • As we move further away from the
area and wave energy. beach, deposited materials tend to be
larger, due to storms [cf. text].
 Coastal Landforms V

Other landforms include:

• Spits [banco de arena], are long narrow ridges of
sand and shingle which project from the coastline
into the sea.
 Coastal Landforms VI
• Bars. These are created where a spit grows across a bay,
joining two headlands. Behind the bar, a lagoon is
created,
 Coastal Landforms VII
• Tombolos are formed when a spit continues to grow
outwards, joining land to a offshore island