Environmental Change and Coastal Management

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the biophysical spheres, environmental functions, environmental worldviews, coastal geomorphology, wave dynamics, and engineering strategies.

Atmosphere

The biophysical sphere comprising the layer of gases surrounding the Earth, which facilitates processes such as absorption, reflection, scattering, aeolian activity, transportation, and deposition.

Biosphere

The biophysical sphere that includes all living organisms on Earth, encompassing plants and animals functioning through processes such as photosynthesis, food chains, and the oxygen cycle.

Lithosphere

The outer solid sphere of the Earth consisting of rocks, soils, and the crust, shaped by processes including weathering, erosion, tectonic processes, and the nitrogen cycle.

Hydrosphere

The biophysical sphere containing all water on Earth, operating through hydrological processes such as precipitation, infiltration, run-off, evaporation, transpiration, and condensation.

Ego vs. Eco Worldviews

A visual comparison of environmental paradigms: 'Ego' places humans at the apex of a hierarchical pyramid above other species, while 'Eco' positions humans equitably within a circular web of all living things.

Source Function

An environmental service whereby natural biophysical products (such as timber and coal) are harvested and converted by humans for economic use.

Sink Function

The capacity of the natural environment to absorb, breakdown, or recycle human wastes, such as marine micro-organisms breaking down oil spills.

Service Function

The provision of biophysical work performed by natural systems without human intervention, such as forests regulating global climate and absorbing $CO_2$.

Spiritual Function

The cultural, psychological, and symbolic importance of the natural environment to humans, exemplified by First Nations and Aboriginal connection to Country.

Egocentric Worldview

An environmental perspective that prioritises an individual's own personal needs, gain, and economic interests above the ecosystem.

Anthropocentric Worldview

A human-centred philosophical worldview that values nature primarily for the material resources and benefits it provides to human beings.

Stewardship Worldview

An environmental management perspective balancing the sustainable utilisation of natural resources with a moral responsibility to protect and preserve ecosystems for the future.

Biocentric Worldview

An ethical worldview that recognises the intrinsic right of all living creatures to exist, seeking to sustain all life and minimise human impact.

Ecocentric Worldview

A nature-centred philosophy that prioritises ecosystem preservation above all else, even at the cost of human economic gain or employment.

Ecological Footprint

A quantitative measure of human demand on the Earth's biophysical ecosystems relative to the planet's biocapacity to regenerate resources.

Indigenous Protected Areas (IPAs)

Federally supported conservation agreements with Traditional Owners protecting threatened species (e.g., $357$ species) while sustaining cultural heritage and generating Ranger jobs.

Anatomy of an Ocean Wave

Key geometric features of sea waves: crest (highest point), trough (lowest point), wavelength (crest-to-crest distance), wave period, circular orbit changing to elliptical due to friction, and beach swash/backwash.

Constructive Wave

A depositional wave with low frequency ($8\text{--}10\text{ waves per minute}$), height under $1\text{ metre}$, long wavelength, elliptical shoaling orbit, strong swash, and weak backwash.

Destructive Wave

An erosional wave with high frequency ($10\text{--}14\text{ waves per minute}$), height over $1\text{ metre}$, short wavelength, steep front, weak swash, and very strong backwash depositing sand onto offshore bars.

Salt-Spray Weathering

A mechanical weathering process on coastal rock platforms where seawater spray deposits salt crystals that expand and contract within cracks, breaking the rock apart.

Wave Pounding

The erosive mechanical force exerted by the physical impact of breaking water masses directly slamming against cliff faces to weaken coastal rock.

Hydraulic Pressure

A coastal erosion process in which water surges into cliff crevices, compressing trapped air pockets that subsequently expand explosively as waves retreat, fracturing the bedrock.

Solution (Corrosion)

A chemical coastal erosion process where mildly acidic ocean water reacts chemically with soluble minerals in coastal rocks, dissolving them.

Abrasion (Corrasion)

The abrasive mechanical wear of cliff faces caused by waves hurling sediment, pebbles, and rock fragments against coastal surfaces like sandpaper.

Attrition

The coastal erosion mechanism in which rocky fragments and pebbles carried by wave turbulence constantly collide, fracturing into progressively smaller and smoother sediment particles.

Longshore Drift

The zig-zag net transport of beach sediment along a coastline caused by oblique wave swash pushing sand up at an angle and perpendicular backwash pulling it straight down seaward.

Storm Surge

An abnormal rise in coastal sea surface elevation above predicted astronomical levels, generated by the low atmospheric pressure and driving winds of cyclonic systems.

Storm Tide

The combined, total water level achieved during a coastal storm, calculated as the algebraic sum of the astronomical tide plus the storm surge ($\text{storm surge} + \text{normal tide}$).

East Coast Low

An intense sub-tropical maritime low-pressure system forming between $20^\backprime\text{S}$ and $40^\backprime\text{S}$ within $200\text{ km}$ of the eastern coast for over $12\text{ hours}$, bringing gale-force winds and coastal erosion.

Wave-Cut Notch

A horizontal, recessed indentation carved into the base of a cliff between high and low water marks by concentrated wave pounding, hydraulic action, and abrasion.

Wave-Cut Platform

A wide, gently sloping rocky terrace exposed at low tide that forms and extends seaward as an undercut cliff repeatedly collapses and retreats inland.

Tombolo

A coastal depositional landform comprising a spit or barrier of sand that accretes outward from the shore until it connects the mainland to an offshore island (e.g., Kurnell Peninsula).

Hard Engineering

Coastal protection management utilising permanent, artificial, and rigid human-made structures (e.g., groynes, revetments, seawalls) to resist and deflect hydraulic wave energy.

Soft Engineering

Coastal management practices that work sympathetically with natural biophysical processes (such as dune revegetation and beach nourishment) to dissipate energy without hard structures.

Groynes

Rigid hard-engineering barriers built perpendicular to the shoreline that trap sediment moving via longshore drift, widening updrift beaches while starving downdrift stretches.

Beach Nourishment

A soft-engineering management method of artificially importing and dumping large volumes of sand to widen depleted or eroded beaches and absorb wave energy.

Tweed Sand Bypassing System

A joint NSW/QLD artificial coastal management system consisting of a $450\text{ m}$ jetty and $10$ jet pumps that transport trapped sand via pipeline under the Tweed River to southern Gold Coast beaches.

The Sand Motor (Zandmotor)

An innovative Dutch soft engineering mega-nourishment project completed in 2011 involving $21.5\text{ million m}^3$ of sand placed as a peninsula to be redistributed naturally by waves and currents.

Botany Bay Coastal Modifications

A summary of human-induced interventions: Port Botany ($20\text{ m}$ dredging, $200\text{ ha}$ reclamation, $2\text{ km}$ tribar seawall), Lady Robinson's beach restorations, and Kurnell ($200{,}000\text{ tonnes}$ sand nourishment, $12$ groynes).

Gamay Rangers

An Indigenous conservation ranger team from the La Perouse Local Aboriginal Land Council who patrol Gamay (Botany Bay), protect marine fauna, and combine traditional knowledge with scientific partnerships.

Seabee Seawall

A $340\text{ m}$ hard-engineering coastal wall installation at Cronulla composed of interlocking hexagonal concrete units that absorb wave run-up and deflect energy through integrated drainage holes.