oshore of a body of water formed and washed by waves and tides ousually well sorted sand and pebbles,

accompanied by mud, cobbles, boulders, smooth rocks and shell fragments.

BEACH SEDIMENTS

Marine beach sands around the world are usually quartzose in composition. The sand grains are usually fairly well rounded by repeated abrasive pounding by waves. Some oceanic beach sands are dominantly or entirely composed of lithic grains while some are composed of biogenic material.

Quartzose marine beach sand from sealevel at Carrickalinga Head, Southern Australia.

Modern lithic-biogenic beach sand from a boulder-sand beach at Big Gully, Southern Australia.

Olivine-basalt sand, Green Sand Beach, Puu Mahana Volcanic Cone, Hawaii Hotspot, central Pacific Basin.

Erosion is when wind, water, and ice take away sediments of land. Sediment is made of rocks, dirt, and earth. Erosion by wind action occurs mostly on beaches and in deserts, because there is no continuous vegetation or plants. Wave erosion, which occurs along beaches and coasts, is caused by the impact of breaking waves on the land. Coastal erosion occurs along beaches and shorelines. Both wind action and water action have important parts in this process and constantly change the boundary between land and water. Coastal erosion takes land away forever from one area to deposit it someplace else. The beach is constantly pounded by waves which eventually break fragments of ground and rock into sand. How hard a beach is hit by waves depends on lunar tides and differences in water density. There is no continuous groundcover on the beach, so sand dunes form easily. Wind blows sand particles from side to side. People sometimes build fences to keep sand from shifting so much. Eventually, the sand is blown away and water takes its' place. The land is gone.

Seawalls force waves back to the ocean. These waves take the sand in front of the seawall and deposit it far away from land. The water in front of the seawall gets deeper and makes for bigger waves next to the shoreline, so you always have to build bigger seawalls. The sea will always win this battle because the force of water will always be stronger than any seawall. y Sand replenishment takes sand away from one place to deposit it elsewhere. People built jetties to catch sand which works great for that beach. But beaches down current will erode away because they don't get any sand.
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y Sea Walls y Sea walls, which run parallel to the coast, are one of the most common responses to coastal erosion. They stabilize the beach, but they shift the problem to an adjacent part of the coast. y Groynes y Groynes are structures that prevent erosion by limiting water flow and sediment movement. They're usually built perpendicular to the shore, and may or not be submerged. y Vegetation y Planting vegetation such as trees defends the coastline. An advantage to this technique is that trees regenerate themselves. y Offshore Breakwaters y Offshore breakwaters are submerged structures that parallel the shore. They absorb wave energy and serve as artificial reefs for marine life.

y Artificial Headlands y These are rock formations built to protect dunes. They're inexpensive and they last up to five years. y Living Shorelines y A new technique, living shorelines are coasts in which shellfish have been planted. The shells attract aquatic life, which prevents erosion naturally.

Spit & Tombolo

A spit is a long, narrow ridge of deposited materials that extends from the mainland into the sea. When the spit is connecting an island to a mainland to form a feature, it is called a tombolo.

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A Spit is a long, narrow ridge of deposited materials that extends from the mainland into the sea. An example in Brunei is Muara Spit and Kuala Tutong Spit. When the spit is connected the island to the mainland to form a feature is called the Tombolos. The long shore drift transports materials along the coast. If there is a sudden change in the direction of the coast, the longshore drift continues to transport the materials in the original direction to the deep sea As the longshore drift enters the deep water, the materials are deposited. Over time, these materials accumulate above the water to form a spit. The spit continues to grow with the continuous deposition of materials. The spit join a nearby island to the mainland to form a tombolo.