What are currents within the surf zone that follow parallel to the shore known as?
When a wave reaches a beach or coastline, it releases a burst of energy that generates a current, which runs parallel to the shoreline. This type of current is called a “longshore current.”
What is the zigzag movement of sand grains along a beach?
Longshore drift is the net (average) movement of sand grains across a beach in a zig-zag motion. The backwash carries the material directly down (gravity) into the sea or it stays there.
In which direction does sediment within the surf zone move quizlet?
Sediment moves in the downwind direction. Causes erosion and narrowing of the beach. How can movement of sand in the surf zone be prevented?
Which one of the following would indicate that the land has been lifted or that sea level had fallen?
Science 101 Final
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| The presence of which one of the following would indicate that the land had been uplifted or that sea level had fallen? | elevated marine terrace |
| The movement of sand parallel to the shore ________. | all of these |
What is cross shore current?
The continuous, directed movement of water (or air) is called a current. Reflected, or turned back, by the beach slope, water from waves becomes undertow or cross-shore currents, flowing seaward. As cross-shore currents meet with incoming waves, some water spreads sideward and merges with other sideward-moving water.
Is the movement of sand parallel to the shore?
Although the waves hit the beach at an angle, the net motion that they produce (the longshore current) flows parallel to the shoreline. This current moves sand parallel to the shoreline as well (called beach drift or longshore drift).
When waves reach shallow water they are often bent and tend to become parallel to shore This process is called?
Terms in this set (15) When waves reach shallow water, they are often bent and tend to become parallel to the shore. This process is termed ______. refraction.
What is the long term movement direction of sediment within the surf zone?
The net movement of sediment due to longshore transport is to the south along both coasts of the continental United States, because the storms and high winds that originally create the swell tend to occur at higher latitudes and move to the south.
In which direction does sediment within the surf zone move?
A longshore drift is the transport of sediment in the surf zone parallel to the shoreline by longshore current. This is due to most waves approaching the beach at an angle, thus the swash and backwash transport sand down the beach in a zigzag motion.
Which one of the following is a landform created by wave erosion group of answer choices?
Science Chapter 9-Oceans
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| The movement of sand parallel to the shore | all of these |
| Which one of the following is a landform created by wave erosion? | sea arch |
| A ridge of sand projecting into a bay and often having a hooked end is a | spit |
| The movement of sand parallel to the shore | all of these |
What is it called when the water moves toward the shoreline?
As the tide rises, water moves toward the shore. This is called a flood current. As the tide recedes, the waters move away from the shore. This is called an ebb current. The movement of water toward and away from the shore is illustrated by the movement of the green seaweed.
What does longshore drift do?
Longshore drift is a process responsible for moving significant amounts of sediment along the coast. This usually occurs in one direction as dictated by the prevailing wind. For example, the prevailing wind along the Holderness Coast is north-easterly.
Which causes the movement of sand parallel to the shore?
Longshore drift is the movement of sand parallel to the shore caused by the angle of the waves breaking on the beach. Longshore drift can cause the beach to build out from the mainland, across the mouth of a shoreline indentation such as a bay or estuary.
What is the movement of sand along the beach called?
beach drift Consequently, beach sand will have a net movement up or down the beach, depending on the direction of incoming waves. This net movement of the beach sand is known as beach drift.
Why are waves parallel to the shore?
When the middle and right side hit shallow water, they too will slow down because of friction. Thus, the whole wave gradually turns to the left – until it becomes parallel to the shore. On approaching the shore, waves break because of the same friction effect.
What is a surging wave?
Surging waves are the result of long period swells. As a result, the wave is slow, the faces are smooth and oblique, and the crest barely exists. These waves may not break at all. Breaking waves have a deep trough; surging waves do not.
What is the swash in geography?
Swash, or forewash in geography, is a turbulent layer of water that washes up on the beach after an incoming wave has broken. The swash action can move beach materials up and down the beach, which results in the cross-shore sediment exchange.
What is longshore drift in geography?
Waves that hit the beach at an angle carry sand and gravel up the beach face at an angle. When the water washes back the sediment. is carried straight back down the beach face. Individual particles are moved along the beach in a zig zag pattern. This is called longshore drift.
What happens in the surf zone?
The region of breaking waves defines the surf zone, or breaker zone. After breaking in the surf zone, the waves (now reduced in height) continue to move in, and they run up onto the sloping front of the beach, forming an uprush of water called swash. The water then runs back again as backwash.
What direction is longshore drift?
The general direction of longshore drift is decided by the prevailing wind. In the diagram below the prevailing wind is approaching from the south-west. Therefore longshore drift is moving material from the west to the east.
What is an erosional coastline?
In general, erosional coasts are those with little or no sediment, whereas depositional coasts are characterized by abundant sediment accumulation over the long term. Both temporal and geographic variations may occur in each of these coastal types. Erosional coasts typically exhibit high relief and rugged topography.
What is the movement of waves called?
There are two basic types of wave motion for mechanical waves: longitudinal waves and transverse waves. The animations below demonstrate both types of wave and illustrate the difference between the motion of the wave and the motion of the particles in the medium through which the wave is travelling.
What is swash and backwash?
The terms swash and backwash collectively refer to the oscillatory motion of the shoreline due to the continuous arrival of waves. They also describe the associated thin lens of water behind the moving shoreline that periodically covers and uncovers the beach face.
What is another name for longshore drift?
Longshore drift is simply the sediment moved by the longshore current. This current and sediment movement occur within the surf zone. The process is also known as littoral drift.
What is beach drift?
As wind-driven waves approach the shoreline at a slight angle, sediments are carried along the coast. Waves move sediments along the beach in a zigzag fashion (red arrows). The majority of sediment is transported in the surf zone. The movement of sand along the shoreline is known as beach drift.
Are water waves transverse or longitudinal?
Water waves are an example of waves that involve a combination of both longitudinal and transverse motions. As a wave travels through the waver, the particles travel in clockwise circles. The radius of the circles decreases as the depth into the water increases.
What is it called when a wave hits the shore?
After the wave breaks, it is called swash. Swash, in geography, is known as a turbulent layer of water that washes up on the beach after an incoming wave has broken. Swash consists of two phases: uprush (onshore flow) and backwash (offshore flow).
What does surge mean in surfing?
Surging waves are produced when long period swells arrive at coastlines with steep beach profiles. The base of the wave moves fast and does not allow the crest to evolve. As a result, the wave almost doesn't break, and there is little whitewater.
Why is it called swash?
Swash is the name given to the waves that rush up the beach after a wave has broken. They are intriguing little waves that inhabit a world of their own. Most of the waves we see in the sea are known as 'waves of oscillation'.
What is drift in geography?
In geology, drift is the name for all material of glacial origin found anywhere on land or at sea, including sediment and large rocks (glacial erratic). Glacial origin refers to erosion, transportation and deposition by glaciers.