CIE Geography A-level

8: Coastal Environments
Detailed Notes

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Wave Generation and Characteristics
Waves have the power to shape a coastal environment, creating new landforms and eroding
away the beach.

Characteristics of Waves
The crest, trough, wavelength, and wave height can be measured in a wave. These components
show the characteristics of a wave.

Wave Formation
● Winds move across the surface of the water, causing frictional drag (resistance to the
wind by the water) which creates small ripples and waves. This leads to a circular orbital
motion of water particles in the ocean.
● As the seabed becomes shallower towards the coastline, the orbit of the water particles
becomes more elliptical, leading to more horizontal movement of the waves.
● The wave height increases, but the wavelength (distance between two waves) and
wave velocity both decrease.
● This causes water to back up from behind the wave until the wave breaks (collapses)
and surges up the beach.

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The size and the energy of a wave is influenced by 3 factors:
1. Strength of the Wind: Wind is essentially air that moves from an area of high pressure to
an area of low pressure. The different pressure areas are caused by variations in
surface heating by the sun. The larger the difference in pressure between two areas
(pressure gradient) the stronger the winds. As waves are caused by the wind, stronger
winds also mean stronger waves.

2. Duration of the Wind: If the wind is active for longer periods of time, then the energy of
the waves will build up and increase.

3. Size of the Fetch: Fetch is the distance over which the wind blows. The larger it is, the
more powerful the waves will be.

Swash and Backwash

Waves move onto and off a beach by swash and backwash.

Swash: The movement of the wave onto the beach after a wave breaks. Material
being carried by waves is deposited onto the beach.

Backwash: The movement of the wave back down the beach. Backwash drags
any material off a beach.

Wave Types
Constructive waves tend to deposit material, which creates depositional landforms and
increase the size of beaches. In constructive waves, the swash is stronger than the backwash.

Destructive waves act to remove depositional landforms through erosion, which work to
decrease the size of a beach. In destructive waves, the backwash is stronger than the swash.

Constructive Destructive

Formation Formed by weather systems Localised storm events with

that operate in the open ocean stronger winds operating closer to
the coast

Wavelength Long wavelength Short wavelength

Frequency 6-9 Per Minute 11-16 Per Minute

Wave Characteristics Low waves, which surge up the High waves, which plunge onto the
beach beach

Swash Characteristics Strong swash, weak backwash Weak swash, strong backwash

Effect on Beach Occurs on gently sloped Occurs on steeply sloped beaches

beaches

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High-energy coastlines are associated with more powerful waves, so occur in areas where there
is a large fetch. They typically have rocky headlands and landforms and fairly frequent
destructive waves. As a result these coastlines are often eroding as the rate of erosion exceeds
the rate of deposition.

Low-energy coastlines have less powerful waves and occur in sheltered areas where
constructive waves prevail and as a result these are often fairly sandy areas. There are
landforms of deposition as the rates of deposition exceed the rates of erosion.

Wave Refraction
Wave refraction is the process by which waves turn and lose energy around a headland on
uneven coastlines. The wave energy is focussed on the headlands, creating erosive features
in these areas. The energy is dissipated in bays leading to the formation of features associated
with lower energy environments such as beaches.

(Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G1FIBuybN78)

Why Waves Break

● Waves interact with the sea floor when they move into shallower waters near the shore.
This causes friction between the wave and the floor, causing the wave to slow down.

● The wavelength decreases when the wave slows down, causing the wave to become
steeper. This process is called shoaling.

● The shoaling process continues until the wave height can no longer be supported as it is
too high (1:7 height:length), and at this point the wave breaks.

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Marine Erosion
Erosion is the removal of sediment from a coastline. The main processes of erosion are
outlined below:

● Hydraulic Action - As a wave crashes onto a rock or cliff face, air is forced into cracks,
joints and faults within the rock. The high pressure causes the cracks to force apart and
widen when the wave retreats and the air expands. Over time this causes the rock to
fracture. Bubbles found within the water may implode under the high pressure creating
tiny jets of water that over time erode the rock. This erosive process is cavitation.
● Corrasion - Sand and pebbles are picked up by the sea from an offshore sediment sink
or temporal store and hurled against the cliffs at high tide, causing the cliffs to be eroded.
The shape, size, weight and quantity of sediment picked up, as well as the wave speed,
affects the erosive power of this process.
● Abrasion - This is the process where sediment is moved along the shoreline, causing it
to be worn down over time. The stones rubbing against things acts like sandpaper,
wearing down materials over time.
● Solution - The process of water dissolving rocks and material into solutions. The mildly
acidic seawater can cause alkaline rock such as limestone to be eroded and is very
similar to the process of carbonation weathering.
● Attrition - Wave action cause rocks and pebbles to hit against each other, wearing
each other down and so becoming round and eventually smaller. Attrition is an erosive
process within the coastal environment, but has little to no effect on erosion of the coastline
itself.

Sub-Aerial Processes
Weathering
Weathering is the breakdown of rocks (mechanical, biological or chemical) over time.
Mechanical (Physical) Weathering: the breakdown of rocks due to exertion of physical forces
without any chemical changes taking place. Mechanical weathering processes in coastal
environments include:

● Freeze-thaw (Frost-Shattering): Water enters cracks in rocks and then the water freezes
overnight during the winter. As it freezes, water expands by around 10% in volume which
increases the pressure acting on a rock, causing cracks to develop. Over time these cracks
grow, weakening the cliff making is more vulnerable to other processes of erosion.

● Salt Crystallisation: As seawater evaporates, salt is left behind.

Salt crystals will grow over time, exerting pressure on the rock,
which forces the cracks to widen. Salt can also corrode ferrous
(materials that contains iron) rock due to chemical reactions.

● Wetting and Drying: Rocks such as clay expand when wet and then contract again when
they are drying. The frequent cycles of wetting and drying at the coast can cause these
rocks and cliffs to break up.

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Chemical Weathering: The breakdown of rocks through chemical reactions.

● Carbonation: Rainwater absorbs CO2 from the air to create a weak carbonic acid. The
acid then reacts with calcium carbonate in rocks to form calcium bicarbonate, which can
then be easily dissolved. Acid rain reacts with limestone to form calcium bicarbonate,
which is then easily dissolved allowing erosion.

● Oxidation: When minerals become exposed to the air through cracks and fissures, the
mineral will become oxidised which will increase its volume (contributing to mechanical
weathering), causing the rock to crumble. The most common oxidation within rocks is iron
minerals becoming iron oxide, turning the rock rusty orange after being exposed to the air.

● Solution: When rock minerals such as rock salt are dissolved.

Biological Weathering: The breakdown of rocks by organic activity.

● Root action - Roots of plants grow into the cracks of rocks, which exerts pressure,
eventually splitting the rocks. Research Angkor Wat for more information on this, even
though it is not coastal!

● Birds - Some birds such as puffins dig burrows into cliffs weakening them and making
erosion more likely.

● Rock Boring - Many species of clams secrete chemicals that dissolve rocks and piddocks
may burrow into the rock face.

● Seaweed Acids - Some seaweeds contain pockets of sulphuric acid, which if hit against
a rock or cliff face, the acid will dissolve some of the rock’s minerals. (e.g. Kelp).

● Decaying Vegetation - Water that flows through decaying vegetation and then over coastal
areas, will be acidic, thus causing chemical weathering.

Mass Movement
Mass movement is the movement of material down a slope under the influence of gravity.
Mass movement can be categorised into four main areas: heaves, flows, slides and falls. The
type of mass movement is dependent on:

● Cliff/slope angle ● Vegetation

● Rock type ● Saturation of ground
● Rock structure ● Presence of weathering
●
The different types of mass movement include:

Soil Creep: The slowest but most continuous form of mass

movement involving the movement of soil particles downhill.
Particles rise and fall due to wetting and freezing, and this
causes the soil to move down the slope. It leads to the formation
of shallow terracettes.

(Source: commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=14080343)

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Mudflows: An increase in the water content of soil can
reduce friction, leading to earth and mud to flow over
underlying bedrock, or slippery materials such as clay.
Water can get trapped within the rock increasing pore
water pressure, which forces rock particles apart and
therefore weakens the slope. Mudflows represent a
serious threat to life as they can be very fast flowing.

(Source:www.denverpost.com)

Rockfall: Occurs on sloped cliffs (over 40o ) when

exposed to mechanical weathering, though mostly
occurs on vertical cliff faces and can be triggered by
earthquakes. It leads to scree (rock fragments) building
up at the base of the slope.
(Source:www.geostru.eu/rockfall-analysis/)

Landslides and Rockslides: Heavy rainfall leads to

water between joints and bedding planes in cliffs
(which are parallel to the cliff face) which can reduce
friction and lead to a landslide. It occurs when a
block of intact rock moves down the cliff face very
quickly along a flat slope.
(Source:https://blogs.agu.org/landslideblog/2017/05/15/)

Marine Transportation and Deposition

Coastal transportation is responsible for transferring sediment within a sediment cell and between
other sediment cells. The four main processes of transportation are:

● Traction – Large, heavy sediment rolls along the sea bed pushed by currents.
● Saltation – Smaller sediment bounces along the sea bed, being pushed by currents. The
sediment is too heavy to be picked up by the flow of the water.
● Suspension – Small sediment is carried within the flow of the water. Greater velocities of
water are able to suspend larger and heavier pieces of sediment.
● Solution – Dissolved material is carried within the water, potentially in a chemical form.
This method of transportation is an important part of carbonation weathering.

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Deposition
Deposition occurs when sediment becomes too heavy for the water to carry, or if the wave
loses energy. Deposition tends to be a gradual and continuous process, so a wave won’t release
all its sediment at the same time. This explains why beaches are often either sandy or rocky and
these areas are very distinct on the same beach.

High-energy coastlines continue to transport smaller sediment, so larger rocks and shingle are
deposited in these environments. Low-energy coastlines have much smaller sediment, which is
only deposited in these areas where there is a much lower water velocity. As a result, specific
landforms of deposition will occur. Two types of deposition are explained below:

● Gravity Settling: The water’s velocity decreases so sediment begins to be deposited.

● Flocculation: This is an important process in salt and tidal marshes. Clay particles clump
together due to chemical attraction and then sink due to their high density.

Sediment Sources
Rivers:

● Most of the sediment in the coastal zone is a result of

an input from rivers, especially in high-rainfall
environments where significant river erosion occurs. This
is demonstrated by the image of the Gulf of Mexico and
the sediment flowing from a river delta (Source: NASA)
● Sediment may be deposited in estuaries which are
brackish (salty) areas where rivers flow into the sea.
They are important wildlife habitats. The sediment is
then transported throughout the coastal system by
waves, tides and currents.

Cliff Erosion:

● Very important in areas with unconsolidated (uncompacted and therefore unstable)

cliffs that are eroded easily. In some areas, coastlines can retreat by up to 10m per year,
providing a significant sediment input. Most erosion occurs during the winter months
due to more frequent storms.

Wind:

● Wind is a coastal energy source and can cause sand to be blown along or up a beach.
● Sediment transport by winds may occur where there are sand dunes or in glacial and
desert environments which provide sediment inputs.

Glaciers:

● In some coastal systems such as in Antarctica, Greenland, Alaska and Patagonia,

glaciers flow directly into the ocean depositing sediment that was stored in the ice.
● This occurs when glaciers calve, a process where ice breaks off the glacier.

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Offshore:

● Sediment is transferred to the coastal zone when waves, tides and currents erode
offshore sediment sinks such as offshore bars. The sediment is transported onto the
beach, helping to build up the beach.
● Storm surges or tsunami waves may also transfer sediment into the coastal zone.

Longshore Drift:

● Waves hit the beach at an angle

determined by the direction of the
prevailing wind
● The waves push sediment in this
direction and up the beach in the
swash
● Due to gravity, the wave then carries
sediment back down the beach in
the backwash
● This moves sediment along the
beach over time
● It is one of the reasons why when
swimming in the sea, you often
move along the coast in a particular
direction.

Source: BBC

The images show how the process of longshore drift

occurred to block off the Pohoiki Boat Ramp in Hawaii
when the Kilauea volcano erupted in 2018. Volcanic
material was transported along the coastline by
longshore drift, leading to deposition and beach
formation. This formed a spit off the breakwater before
eventually blocking the entire boat ramp. It demonstrates
how quickly the process of longshore drift can have an
impact on shaping the coastal environment.

Source: USGS and West Hawaii Today

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Sediment Cells
Coasts can be split into sections called sediment cells which are often bordered by prominent
headlands. Within these sections, the movement of sediment is almost contained and the flows
of sediment act in dynamic equilibrium.
Dynamic equilibrium refers to the maintenance of a balance in a natural system, despite it being
in a constant state of change. The system has a tendency to counteract any changes imposed
on the system in order to keep this balance, which is achieved by inputs and outputs constantly
changing to maintain the balance. Dynamic equilibrium in a sediment cell is where input and
outputs of sediment are in a constant state of change but remain in balance.
Sediment cells are split up into smaller cells called sub-cells.

Erosional Landforms
Cliff Profile and Rate of Retreat
Cliffs are formed as a result of weathering and erosional processes in coastal environments.
Steep Cliffs: Most common where the rock is strong and fairly resistant to erosion.
Sedimentary rocks that have vertical strata are also more resistant to erosion, creating steep
cliffs. An absence of a beach, long-fetch and high energy waves also promote steep cliff
development. Most commonly found in high-energy environments.
Gentle Cliffs: Most commonly found in areas with weaker rocks which are less resistant to
erosion and are prone to slumping. Low-energy waves and a short fetch will lead to the
formation of a scree mound at the base of the cliff, reducing the overall cliff angle. A large beach
would also reduce wave energy and prevent the development of steep cliffs by reducing erosion
rates. Most commonly found in low-energy environments.
Rate of Retreat: Dependent on the relative importance of marine factors (fetch, beach, wave
energy) and terrestrial factors (subaerial processes, geology, rock strength). The cliff’s most likely
to retreat are those that are made of unconsolidated rock and sands.

The White Cliffs of Dover

(Source: By Immanuel Giel - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=25365041)

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Wave-cut Notch and Platform
● When waves erode a cliff, the erosion is mostly concentrated around the high-tide line.
The main processes of hydraulic action and corrasion create a wave-cut notch.
● As the notch becomes deeper (and sub-aerial weathering weakens the cliff from the top)
the cliff face becomes unstable and falls under its own weight through mass movement.
● This leaves behind a platform of the unaffected cliff base beneath the wave-cut notch.
● Over time the same processes repeat leading to a wave-cut platform to be formed, which
is normally exposed at high-tide.

(Source: www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zyfd2p3/revision/1)

Caves, Arches, Stacks & Stumps

This sequence occurs on headlands:
● Waves enter faults and cracks in the headland, and erode the cracks through the processes
of hydraulic action and abrasion.
● The cave will widen due to both marine erosion and sub-aerial processes, eroding
through to the other side of the headland, creating an arch.
● The arch continues to widen until it is unable to support itself, falling under its own weight
through mass movement, leaving a stack as one side of the arch becomes detached from
the mainland.
● As marine erosion continues attacking the base of the stack, eventually the stack will
collapse into a stump.

(Source: https://www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/z8tstv4/revision/4)

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Depositional Landforms
Beaches
A beach is a depositional landform that stretches from roughly the low tide to the high tide line.
Beaches are created when sediment is deposited near the coastline when waves lose their energy.

Larger sediment is found toward the top of the beach where it has been left from winter storms.
The backwash is often weaker than the swash as the water quickly percolates into the sand. As the
backwash isn’t as powerful the larger sediment remains at the top of the beach. Scree near the
cliffs as a result of mass movement processes and weathering means that angularity increases
towards the cliff.

Swash-aligned and Drift-aligned Beaches

The effectiveness of transportation is dependent on the angle of the prevailing wind in relation
to the land and leads to the formation of different beach types:

● Swash-aligned: Wave crests approach parallel

to the coast, so there is limited longshore drift.
Sediment doesn’t travel far along the beach.
Wave refraction may reduce the speed of high
energy waves, leading to the formation of a
shingle beach with larger sediment.

● Drift-aligned: Waves approach at a significant

angle, so longshore drift causes the sediment to
travel far along the beach, which may lead to the
formation of a spit at the end of a beach.
Generally larger sediment is found at the start
of the beach and weathered sediment moves
further down the beach through longshore drift,
becoming smaller as it does, so the end of the
beach is likely to contain smaller sediment.

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Spits
A spit is a long narrow strip of land which is formed when longshore drift causes the beach to
extend out to sea, usually due to a change in direction of the coastline.

(Source: /www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zxj6fg8/revision/2)

This sediment projection can create a salt marsh due to the sheltered, saline environment
where water flow speed is lower, allowing deposition of finer sediments to occur. The length of
the spit depends on any changing currents or rivers, which will prevent sediment from being
deposited. This means a spit can never extend across an estuary. A change in wind direction
or wave direction can cause the end of the spit to curve (known as a recurved end).

Over time, the recurved end may be abandoned, and a new spit will form on the old recurved end,
and so on. This creates a spit with multiple recurved ends, called a compound spit. This is
shown in the diagram below.

(Source: http://thebritishgeographer.weebly.com/coasts-of-erosion-and-coasts-of-deposition.html)

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Offshore Bars

An offshore bar is an offshore region where sand is deposited, as the waves don’t have enough
energy to carry the sediment to shore. They can be formed when the wave breaks early, instantly
depositing its sediment as a loose-sediment offshore bar. They may also be formed as a result of
backwash from destructive waves removing sediment from a beach. Offshore bars may
absorb wave energy, reducing erosion in some areas.

(https://www.internetgeography.net/topics/landforms-of-coastal-deposition/)

Tombolo

A tombolo is a spit that connects the mainland to an offshore island. Tombolos are formed due
to wave refraction off the coastal island reducing wave velocity, leading to deposition of
sediments. They may be covered at high tide if they are low lying.

(Source: www.geocaching.com)

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Barrier Beach

A barrier beach occurs when a beach or spit extends across a bay to join two headlands. This
traps water behind it leading to the formation of a brackish lagoon which is separated from the
sea. As well as forming from present day processes, some barrier beaches may have formed due
to rising sea levels after the last glacial period, when meltwater from glaciers deposited
sediment in the coastal zone. If a barrier beach becomes separated from the mainland, it
becomes a barrier island.

Sand Dunes

Sand dunes occur when prevailing winds blow sediment to the back of the beach and
therefore the formation of dunes requires large quantities of sand and a large tidal range. This
allows the sand to dry, so that it is light enough to be picked up and carried by the wind to the back
of the beach. Frequent and strong onshore winds are also necessary. The dunes develop as a
process of a vegetation succession:

Pioneer species such as sea rocket are resistant and able to survive in the
salty sand, with its roots helping to bind the dunes together.
(Source: By Jürgen Howaldt - Self-photographed, CC BY-SA 2.0 de, commons.wikimedia)

Decaying organic matter adds nutrients and humus (organic material

comprised of decaying plant and animal matter) to the soil allowing marram
grass to grow.
Larger plants are able to colonise the area and the climatic climax occurs
when trees are able to colonise the area.

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This leads to a dune structure involving different types of dunes:

● Embryo Dunes – Upper beach area where sand starts to accumulate around a small
obstacle (driftwood, wooden peg, ridge of shingle).
● Yellow Dunes – As more sand accumulates and the dune grows. Vegetation may develop
on the upper and back dune surfaces which stabilises the dune. This is the tallest of the
dune succession.
● Grey Dunes – Sand develops into soil with lots of moisture and nutrients, as vegetation
dies, enabling more varied plant growth.
● Dune Slack – The water table rises closer to the surface, or water is trapped between
hollows between dunes during storms, allowing the development of moisture-loving plants
(e.g. willow grass).
● Heath and Woodland – Sandy soils develop as there is a greater nutrient content, allowing
for less brackish plants to thrive. Trees will also grow (willow, birch, oak trees) with the
coastal woodland becoming a natural windbreak to the mainland behind.

(Source: https://www.internetgeography.net/topics/how-are-sand-dunes-formed/)

Salt Marshes
In sheltered bays or behind spits, salt and
minerals will build up. Vegetation may
establish, further stabilising the salt marsh.
Similar to sand dunes, salt marshes can
stabilise through vegetation succession.

A restored salt marsh on the Eden estuary

(Source:synergy.st-andrews.ac.uk)

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Salt Marsh Succession

1. Algal Stage - Gut weed and Blue green algae establish as they can grow on bare mud, which
their roots help to bind together.
2. Pioneer Stage - Cordgrass and Glasswort grow, their roots begin to stabilise the mud allowing
the estuarine to grow.
3. Establishment Stage - saltmarsh-grass and Sea asters grow, creating a carpet of vegetation
and so the height of the salt marsh increases.
4. Stabilisation - Sea thrift, Scurvy grass & Sea-lavender grow, and so salt rarely ever gets
submerged beneath the marsh.
5. Climax vegetation - Rush, Sedge & Red fescue grass grow since the salt marsh is only
submerged one or twice a year.

Mangroves

Mangroves are trees that are adapted to grow in saline,

low oxygen conditions. They develop in coastal
swamps in tropical regions, meaning the environment
around them is constantly changing with the tides.
Mangroves can stabilise shorelines with roots and
protect areas from erosion, as well as providing an
environment for wildlife.

Mangroves in the Dominican Republic.

(Source: © Rachel Docherty/Flickr Creative Commons)

Tidal Sedimentation in Estuaries

An estuary is the point where a river meets the ocean. Deposition occurs in river estuaries due to
the change in water velocity from a river to an ocean.

When the flow of water from the river meets with the incoming tides and waves from the sea,
the water flow virtually ceases so the water can no longer carry its sediment in suspension. As
most of the sediment is small and fine it leads to a build up of mud which, over time, builds up
until it is above the water level. Deposition also occurs as a result of flocculation.

Pioneer plants colonise this area, leading to more sediment becoming trapped. This colonises the
transition zone between high and low tide. Mudflats and salt marshes may develop as a result of
sedimentation.

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Sea Level Change
Sea levels change in short-term period such as day-to-day or minute to minute due to factors such
as high tide and low tide, wind strength and changes in wind direction or changes in
atmospheric pressure (the lower the pressure, the higher the sea levels). Sea level change also
occurs over long-term periods, leading to the formation of various coastal landforms as a result of
the following processes:

Isostatic Change
Isostatic change occurs when the land rises or falls relative to the sea and is a localised
change.

Isostatic sea level change is often a result of isostatic subsidence (glaciers weigh down the land
beneath, and so the land subsides). The melting of glaciers after the last ice age has lead to
isostatic recovery, causing the coastline to rebound and rise again in the areas that were
covered by ice. In the UK, this has caused a see-saw effect. Scotland and the north-west of
England are rising at around 1.5mm per year as they were previously covered by glaciers, but
this has caused the land in the south-east to subside around 1mm a year. In some areas of the
Mediterranean, some historical ports have been submerged and other raised above the current
sea level as a result of this process.

Tectonic activity (such as earthquakes and volcanic eruptions) may cause land subsidence,
therefore causing isostatic sea level change. This was seen in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake,
which caused the city of Bandah Aceh to sink permanently by 0.5m.

Eustatic Change
Eustatic change affects sea level across the whole planet. You can remember this using Eustatic
affects Everywhere.

Eustatic change may be due to thermal expansion/contraction or changes in glacial processes.

Thermal expansion is the process of water expanding when it gets warmer, and so the volume
of water increases leading to rising sea levels.

In the last ice age, sea levels were over 100m lower than they are currently due as the water
was stored in large ice caps as the majority of precipitation fell as snow. When the ice caps melted,
this lead to rising sea levels. As a result of global warming, both processes are acting to increase
sea levels with the IPCC predicting sea level increases for 0.3m - 1.0m by 2100. In Miami, they
are currently facing significant problems, with much of the coastal strip flooding regularly during
high tides as a result of rising sea levels.

Emergent Coastal Landforms

Where the land has been raised in relation to the
coastline, landforms such as arches, stacks and
stumps may be preserved. Raised beaches are
common before cliffs which are also raised (relic
cliffs), with wave-cut notches and similar
features proof of historical marine erosion
A raised beach at Prawle Point, Devon

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Submergent Coastal Landforms

Landforms of submergence occur when the sea level rises or the coastline sinks in relation to
the sea. An easy way to imagine the effects of rising sea levels is to picture a mountainous area
close to the coast and then imagine sea level rising by around 100m leading to some of the valley’s
being flooded. Rising sea levels leads to the following landforms:

Rias: Rias are formed when rising sea levels

flood narrow winding inlets and river valleys.
They are deeper at the mouth of the inlet, with
the water depth decreasing further inland.

Sydney Harbour is a ria, seen in the image.

Fjords: Fjords are formed when rising sea levels

flood deep glacial valleys to create natural
inlets and harbours. Fjords can be found across
the world though in some countries such as New
Zealand they may be referred to as sounds. They
are deeper in the middle section than they are
at the mouth, with the shallower section
identifying where the glacier left the valley.

One of the many fjords in Norway caused by rising sea levels

(source: https://www.fjords.com/what-is-a-fjord/)

Dalmatian Coasts: This type of coastline

occurs when valleys running parallel to the
coast become flooded as a result of sea level
change. This leaves a series of narrow, long
and rugged islands and the best examples
can be seen in Croatia. They may also be
referred to as Pacific coasts.
Croatia has some of the most prominent Dalmatian
coasts
(source:https://croatia.eu/article.php?lang=2&id=11)

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Contemporary Sea Level Change

Since records began around 20,000 years ago,

sea levels have always been rising from 120m
below the levels which they are now today. The
graph clearly shows that sea level increase
slowed around 8,000 years ago, and levelled at
the current height around 3000 years ago.

Since 1880 and the industrial revolution, sea levels

have increased by around 235mm. That may not
sound significant, but it is enough to overwhelm
some sea defences, when combined with higher
than expected storm surges. It also affects the
drainage system in coastal cities increasing the
flooding risk.

The International Panel on Climate Change

(IPCC) predicts that sea levels may rise between
0.3 - 1.0m by 2100 and the graph shown on the
left shows the different models and climate
predictions that they have created. This could
cause aquifers to be polluted in low-lying atoll
islands (coral reefs protruding from the sea)
affecting the residents who live in them. It may
also inundate many coastal cities and
significantly increase the risks from tropical storms
and tsunamis. In some areas turning the coastal
area into recreational land as a method of
adaptation to climate change is proving to be a
popular option.

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Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are underwater ecosystems characterised by large
amounts of coral, held together by calcium carbonate. These
reefs create environments suitable for abundances of wildlife to
live in.
(Source: https://www.nationalgeographic.com)

Coral reefs are majorly found in tropical and sub-tropical regions as coral requires certain
conditions to grow and survive:

● Salinity: corals can only survive in salt water

● Temperature: corals thrive in warm oceans (around 23-25°C), hence why they are located
within the tropics

● Light: algae lives inside corals, and this algae needs light in order to photosynthesise.
Corals rely on this algae for oxygen among other things, meaning corals also rely on light to
survive. Corals will therefore only grow in shallower waters where light can still reach them
(around 25 metres).

● Oxygen: corals need a certain amount of oxygen to survive. Localised wave movements
can encourage the growth of corals.

● Clean water: sediments and pollutants in water can block sunlight, poison coral, and
disrupt feeding.

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Types of Coral Reefs
Fringing Reefs
Fringing reefs are coral reefs that are attached to the shoreline or run closely parallel to the
shoreline. They are the most common type of coral reef, and can be hundreds of kilometres
long.

Fringing reefs do not have to grow directly attached to the shore, and may be separated by a
shallow backreef. This is shown below. However, when there is a deep, wide lagoon between
the reef and the shore it is then known as a barrier reef.

The Ningaloo Coral Reef in Australia (https://www.australiascoralcoast.com/region/ningaloo)

Barrier Reefs
A barrier reef is a coral reef that is completely separate from a shore by a lagoon. The lagoons
can be 30-70 metres deep and kilometers wide. Like fringing reefs, barrier reefs also run parallel
to the coastline, but they are separated by much deeper and wider lagoons.

New Caledonian Barrier Reef (Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/eustaquio/8405801692)

Atolls
Atolls are circular coral reefs with a lagoon in the middle.
Atolls are thought to be the oldest types of coral reefs, and
can take up to 30 million years to form.

Atolls form from a fringing reef surrounding a volcanic

island. As sea levels rise, or as the volcanic island sinks
back into the ocean, the reef continues to grow. This leaves
behind a ring of coral that once surrounded the island, with a
shallow lagoon in the middle. (Source: earthobservatory.nasa.gov)

(Source: https://opentextbc.ca)

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Managing Coral Reefs
There are different strategies to manage coral reefs, for example:

Protected Areas and Exclusion Zones

Threats to coral reefs can be reduced by reducing the activities that take place there. Banning
fishing, tourist activities, diving etc. outright is the most successful way of reducing the physical
damage that these cause. Temporary closures of coral reef diving/fishing areas can be a good
way of allowing reefs to recuperate after times of stress for coral reefs, e.g. bleaching.

Preventing and Controlling Invasive Species/ Predators

Invasive species can be very harmful to coral reefs, both affecting the coral directly and
affecting the ecosystem that the coral depends on. Management strategies are in place to
ensure these invasive species do not enter the coral reef ecosystems, and in the event they do
they can be controlled as to limit the effects they have. For example, cleaning ships and having
disposal strategies can help to limit the transportation of invasive species into coral reef
systems.

Schemes to remove predators also help to manage coral reefs. For example, the
crown-of-thorns starfish can be very dangerous to coral reefs when there is a severe outbreak,
as they eat the corals. There are several strategies to remove these starfish, such as injecting
them with sodium bisulfate or manually removing them.

Limiting Global Warming and Ocean Acidification

In the long term, large-scale coral reef damage is a huge threat due to the world’s carbon dioxide
emissions. Reducing emissions on a global scale is necessary in order to reduce the many
problems associated with CO2 emissions (sea-levels rising, ocean acidification, global warming
causing coral bleaching, diseases and invasive species caused by warmer sea temperatures etc.).

Government strategies, greener energy sources, and a reduced reliance on fossil fuels can
all contribute to lower carbon dioxide emissions, therefore helping coral reefs in the long term.

Education and Awareness

Educating those who are around coral reefs on how to interact with this environment can be a
successful way of managing coral reefs. For example, sustainable diving practices that limit the
effect on coral reefs, such as not stirring up sediment when diving. Furthermore, the damage and
destruction of anchoring can be reduced by the use of buoys and education of unsafe places to
drop anchors.

The Reef Resilience Network goes into great detail about different coral reef management
strategies. reefresilience.org/management-strategies/

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