Oceanography

Front 1

backshore

Back 1

sand on the shoreward side of the berm crest, sloping away from the ocean

Front 2

backwash

Back 2

water returning to the ocean from waves washing onto a beach

Front 3

barrier island

Back 3

long, narrow, wave-built island lying parallel to the mainland and separated from it by a lagoon or bay

Front 4

barrier reef

Back 4

coral reef surrounding an island or lying parallel to the shore of a continent separated from land by a deep lagoon

Front 5

bay mouth bar

Back 5

exposed sandbar attached to a headland adjacent to a bay and extending across the mouth of the bay

Front 6

beach

Back 6

zone of loose particles extending from below the water level to the edge of the high coastal zone

Front 7

berm

Back 7

nearly horizontal accumulation of sediment parallel to the shore; marks normal limit of sand deposition by wave action

Front 8

berm crest

Back 8

top of the berm; highest point on most beaches

Front 9

breakwater

Back 9

artificial structure of durable material that interrupts the progress of waves to shore

Front 10

coast

Back 10

zone extending from the ocean inland as far as the environment is immediately affected by marine processes

Front 11

coral reef

Back 11

linear mass of calcium carbonate assembled from coral organisms

Front 12

delta

Back 12

deposit of sediments found at a river mouth, sometimes in triangular shape

Front 13

depositional coast

Back 13

coast in which processes that deposit sediment exceed erosive processes

Front 14

erosion

Back 14

process by which earth is worn away by action of water, winds, waves, etc.

Front 15

erosional coast

Back 15

coast in which erosive processes exceed depositional processes

Front 16

estuary

Back 16

body of water partially surrounded by land where fresh water from a river mixes with ocean water

Front 17

eustatic change

Back 17

worldwide change in sea level

Front 18

fjord

Back 18

deep, narrow estuary in a valley originally cut by a glacier

Front 19

fjord estuary

Back 19

estuary in a fjord, a steep, submerged, U-shaped valley

Front 20

foreshore

Back 20

sand on the seaward side of the berm, sloping toward the ocean to low-tide mark

Front 21

groin

Back 21

short, artificial projection of durable material placed at a right angle to shore in attempt to slow longshore transport of sand from a beach

Front 22

high-energy coast

Back 22

coast exposed to large waves

Front 23

inlet

Back 23

passage giving the ocean access to an enclosed lagoon, harbor or bay

Front 24

lagoon

Back 24

shallow body of seawater generally isolated from the ocean by a barrier island

Front 25

longshore bar

Back 25

submerged or exposed line of sand lying parallel to shore and accumulated by wave action

Front 26

longshore current

Back 26

current running parallel to shore in surf zone caused by incomlpete refraction of waves approaching the beach at an angle

Front 27

longshore drift

Back 27

movement of sediments parallel to shore, driven by wave energy

Front 28

longshore trough

Back 28

submerged excavation parallel to shore adjacent to an exposed sandy beach

Front 29

low-energy coast

Back 29

coast only rarely exposed to large waves

Front 30

rip current

Back 30

strong, narrow surface current that flows seaward through the surf zone and is caused by escape of excess water

Front 31

sandbar

Back 31

submerged or exposed line of sand accumulated by wave action

Front 32

sea cliff

Back 32

cliff marking the landward limit of marine erosion on an erosional coast

Front 33

sea island

Back 33

island whose central core was connected to the mainland when sea level was lower

Front 34

shore

Back 34

place where ocean meets land

Front 35

subsidence

Back 35

sinking