Shoreline Erosion and Deposition

Shoreline

is simply the place where land and a body of water meet

Waves

are ripples produced as wind moves across the ocean surface

The size of a wave depends on…

how hard the wind blows and for how long

Trains

waves don’t move alone, they travel in groups

Surf

breaking waves

Wave period

the time interval between breaking waves

A tremendous amount of ______ is released when waves break

energy

Large rocks will eventually break down into …

sand

Wave erosion

produces a variety of features along a shoreline

Much of the erosion responsible for landforms you might see a long the shoreline takes place during …

storms

Sea Cliffs

form when waves erode and undercut rock to produce steep slopes

Sea Stacks

isolated columns of Rock that were once connected to the mainland

Sea caves

form when waves cut large holes into fractured or week rock along the base of a sea cliff

Sea arches

form when waves continue to erode a sea cave and cuts completely through the rock

Headlands

are finger-shaped projections of harder rock which erodes slower

What do waves carry

a variety of materials that are deposited on a shoreline or beach

Beach

an area of the shoreline made up by material deposited by waves

The movement of sand along a beach depends on the…

angle at which the waves strike the shore

Longshore Current

is a water current that moves the sand in a zigzag pattern along the beach

Longshore currents can…

transport and deposit material offshore

Sandbar

is an underwater or exposed ridge of sand, gravel, or shell material

Barrier split

is and exposed sandbar that is connected to the shoreline.

Certain locations are more…

vulnerable to wind erosion than others

Saltation

the movement of sand or other sediments by short jumps and bounces that is caused by wind or water

Deflation

a form of wind erosion in which fine, dry soil particles are blown away.(leaves behind rock fragments to heavy to carry)

Abrasion

the grinding and wearing away of Rock surface though the mechanical action of other rock or sand particles

Loess

very fine sediments deposited by the wind

Dune

a mound of wind-deposited sand that keeps its shape even though it moves

A dune usually has a

gently sloped side and a steeply sloped side, or slip face