Glossary
- Accretion
- Slow addition to land by water-borne sediment.
- Amplitude
- Wave height.
- Artificial Reef
- Material of any sort manually placed on the ocean floor to create an ecological habitat.
- Bar
- An offshore ridge or mound of sand, gravel, or other unconsolidated material which is submerged, at least at high tide.
- Bathymetry
- The measurement of depths of water in oceans, seas and lakes. Also the information derived from such measurements.
- Beach Face
- The section of the beach normally exposed to the action of wave uprush.
- Beach Nourishment
- The process of replenishing a beach by artificial means.
- Beach Profile
- A cross-section taken perpendicular to a given beach contour; the profile may include the face of a dune or seawall.
- Berm
- On a beach
a nearly horizontal plateau on the beach face or backshore, formed by the deposition of beach material.
- Breaker
- A wave that has become so steep that the crest of the wave topples forward, moving faster than the main body of the wave.
- Breaker Depth
- The still water depth at the point where the wave breaks.
- Breakwater
- A structure protecting a harbor, anchorage, or basin from waves.
- Bypassing
- Hydraulic or mechanical movement of sand from the accreting updrift side to the eroding downdrift side of an inlet or harbor entrance.
- Coast
- A strip of land of indefinite length and width that extends from the seashore inland to the first major change in terrain features.
- Coastal Management
- The development of a strategic, long-term and sustainable land use policy, sometimes called shoreline management.
- Coastal Processes
- Collective term covering the action of natural forces on the shoreline and the nearshore seabed.
- Coastline
- Technically, the line that forms the boundary between the coast and the shore.
- Cobble
- Rounded rocks ranging in diameter from approximately 64 to 256 mm.
- Cross-Shore
- Perpendicular to the shoreline.
- Current
- That portion of a stream of water which is moving with velocity much greater than the average or in which the progress of water is principally concentrated.
- Deep Water
- Deep-water conditions are said to exist when the surf waves are not affected by conditions on the bottom.
- Depth
- Vertical distance from still-water level to the bottom.
- Detached Breakwater
- A breakwater without any coastal connection to the shore.
- Erosion
- Wearing away of the land by natural forces (e.g. wave action, tidal currents or wind).
- Escarpment
- A more or less continuous line of cliffs or steep slopes facing in one general direction which are caused by erosion or faulting.
- Estuary
- (1) The part of a river that is affected by tides.
(2) The region near a river mouth in which the fresh water of the river mixes with the salt water of the sea. - Feeder Beach
- An artificially widened beach serving to nourish downdrift beaches.
- Fetch
- The length of unobstructed open sea surface across which the wind can generate waves.
- Geotube
- A long fabric cylinder filled with sediment used as a wall to retain sediment behind.
- Groin
- A shore protection structure.It is narrow in width (measured parallel to the shore) and its length may vary from tens to hundreds of meters ( extending from a point landward of the shoreline out into the water). Groins may be classified as permeable (with openings thorough them) or impermeable ( a solid or nearly solid structure through which sand cannot pass).
- Hard Defenses
- A general term applied to impermeable coastal defense structures of concrete, timber, steel, and masonry, which reflect a high proportion of incident wave energy.
- Headland
- A land mass having a considerable elevation.
- Higher High Water (HHW)
- The higher of two high waters if any tidal day.
- Incident Wave
- A wave moving landward.
- Inter-tidal
- The zone between the high and low water marks.
- Jetty
- On open seacoasts, a structure extending into a body of water to direct and confine the stream or tidal flow to a selected channel or to prevent shoaling.
- Kelp Bed
- An area, typically nearshore, where substantial concentrations of kelp occur.
- Littoral Current
- A current running parallel to the beach and generally caused by waves striking the shore at an angle.
- Littoral Drift
- The sedimentary material moved in the littoral zone under the influence of waves and currents.
- Littoral Transport
- The movement of littoral drift in the littoral zone by waves and currents.
- Littoral Zone
- An indefinite zone extending seaward from the shoreline to just beyond the breaker zone.
- Longshore Current
- A current located in a surf zone, moving generally parallel to the shoreline, generated by waves breaking at an angle with the shoreline, also called alongshore current.
- Longshore Drift
- Movement of sediments approximately parallel to the shore.
- Nearshore
- In beach terminology, an indefinite zone extending seaward from the shoreline well beyond the breaker zone.
- Nourishment
- The process of replenishing a beach. It may be brought about naturally, by longshore transport, or artificially by the deposition of dredged materials.
- Recession
- A continuing landward movement of the shoreline.
- Reef
- A ridge of rock of other material lying just below the surface of the sea.
- Revetment
- A facing of stone to protect an embankment, or shore structure against erosion by wave action or currents.
- Run-up
- The rush of water up a structure or beach on the breaking of a wave.
- Sandspit
- A small sandy point of land or a narrow shoal projecting into a body of water from the shore.
- Scour Protection:
- Protection against erosion of the seabed in front of the toe.
- Seawall
- A structure built along a portion of a coast primarily to prevent erosion and other damage by wave action. Generally more massive and capable of resisting greater wave forces than a bulkhead.
- Sediment Source
- A point or area on a coast from which beach material arises, such as an eroding cliff or river mouth.
- Sediment Transport
- The main agencies by which sedimentary materials are moved are: gravity; running water (rivers and streams); ice (glaciers); wind and the sea (currents and longshore drift).
- Shoal
- 1. noun – A detached area of any material except rock or coral 2. verb – To become shallow gradually.
- Shoreline Management
- The development of strategic, long-term and sustainable coastal defense and land-use policy within a sediment cell.
- Slough
- A minor sluggish waterway or estuarial creek, tributary to, or connecting, other streams or bodies of water, whose course is usually through lowlands or swamps.
- Soft Structure
- Coastal structure composed of geotextile material rather than steel, rock, or concrete.
- Surf
- The wave activity in the area between the shoreline and the outermost limits of breakers.
- Surf Zone
- The zone of wave action extending from the water line (which varies with tide, surge, set-up, etc.) out to the most seaward point of the zone (breaker zone) at which waves approaching the coastline commence breaking, typically in water depths between 5 and 10 meters
- Toe
- The lower front (seaward) portion of a coastal structure.
- Tidal Current
- The alternating horizontal movement of water associated with the rise and fall of the tide caused by astronomical tide-producing forces.
- Tombolo
- A bar or spit that connects or “ties” an island to the mainland or to another island.
A Special Thanks to Our Member Agencies
