coastal landscapes and change: coastal landscapes

what is the littoral zone?

• a series of sub-zones to represent the features of the wider coastline from sea to land

what four key sub-zones does the littoral zone contain?

• offshore

• nearshore

• foreshore

• backshore

describe offshore

• the area of deeper water beyond the point at  which waves begin to break.

• friction between the waves and the sea bed may cause some distortion of the wave shape

describe nearshore

• the area of shallow water beyond the low tide mark, within which friction between the seabed and waves distorts the wave sufficiently to cause it to break.

• there may be a breakpoint bar between the offshore and nearshore zones.

describe foreshore

• the area between the high tide and the low tide mark.

describe backshore

• the area above the high tide mark, affected by wave action only during major storm events

when does the littoral zone reach dynamic equilibrium?

• when there is a balance between inputs and outputs

what determines inputs in a littoral zone system?

the action of