Shorelines

A Barrier Island

You may wish to print a copy of the lecture outline (minus the illustrations) and you have two options:

• Microsoft Word if you use that Word Processor or
• A Netscape Document that you can print (use the Left Arrow key to return to this page).
• Or, you may view the Shorelines power point presentation shown in class.

Chapter Objectives

After reading Chapter Fourteen, you should be able to:
1. Review the characteristics of waves, and distinguish between waves of oscillation and waves of translation.
2. Explain how waves contribute to erosion.
3. Define wave refraction and longshore transport.
4. Illustrate the common types of shoreline features.
5. Describe some shoreline erosion problems that affect humans.
6. Compare and contrast the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States, and distinguish between emergent and submergent coasts.
7. Explain the tides and how they are created.

Introduction

Shorelines are the areas between low tide and the highest level on land affected by storm waves. Approximately 67% of the world's population is concentrated in narrow bands adjacent to shorelines. In addition, coastlines often provide a convenient storage place for sediment derived from a continental mass. The Atchafalaya Delta, LA, is a good example of a river dominated (bird's foot) deltaic complex (Landsat image). Read about Louisiana's Barrier Islands: A Vanishing Resource ... in the link given in the Chapter Heading.

Class Notes

Internet Resources

1. El Nino Scenario

   "El Nino was originally recognized by fishermen off the coast of South America in the late 1800's as the appearance of abnormally warm water in the Pacific ocean which usually arrived shortly after the beginning of the year. This localized phenomenon is now known to be part of a very large and complex system of atmospheric and oceanic interactions called the El Nino Southern Oscillation or ENSO for short. The mechanisms of the ENSO are the dynamic and thermodynamic interactions between the atmosphere, oceans and land surfaces."Earth Space Research Group at UC Santa Barbara

2. Growing Pains

   "Already, more than half the world's population-- over 2.7 billion people--live within 60 miles (100 km) of a coastline. Rapid urbanization, especially in developing countries, will lead to more coastal megacities--cities with 10 million or more people As coastal zones become more densely populated, coastal water quality will suffer, wildlife will be displaced, and shorelines will erode." From the Ocean Planet Exhibition at the Smithsonian

3. Oceans and Climate Changes

   "Oceans are crucial in shaping climate because they store and move heat around the planet, and they're a major source and storehouse for gases (such as carbon dioxide) that affect climate. It's not fully understood how much carbon dioxide the oceans can absorb and store."

4. Oceans in Peril

   Peter Benchley - author of Jaws ... "More than twenty years ago, I set out to write a story about a town menaced by a marine predator. Intrigued by a newspaper item about a fisherman who had caught a 4,550-pound Great White Shark off the coast of Long Island, I wondered what would happen if such a creature were to visit a resort community . . . and wouldn't go away."

A Virtual Field Trip to the Northern Great Bahama Banks

The Geological Investigations On Northern Great Bahama Bank
"Great Bahama Bank is a platform located in the western Atlantic Ocean which was inundated by rising sea-level as the great continental glaciers of the last ice age melted. The platform (as seen above in this mosaic of Landsat images) varies in depth from 25 m to areas which are barely awash and provides a unique opportunity to examine the effects of rising sea-level on relatively short geologic time scales (several thousand years). As such, information gleaned from the study of this platform may help to mitigate effects of rising sea-level in other low-lying coastal areas such as those which comprise much of the S.E. United States."

Learning about geology from a computer screen is only half as fun as enjoying it in the field!

Self-Quiz

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

| jbutler@uh.edu |E-mail the ClassListserv|Read the ClassListserv|
|Textbook Home Page |Glossary of Geologic Terms|Search These Pages|
|Other Courses|Resources|Grade Book|

_________________________________________________________________________________________________

Copyright by John C. Butler, July 29, 1995