CAS ES 105 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Longshore Drift, Sea Level Rise, Wave Base

• School: Boston University
• Department: Earth Sciences
• Course: CAS ES 105
• Professor: Lawford Anderson

Document Summary

Global issues: sea cliff erosion, beach erosion and restoration, beach san dune preservation, back beach flooding, wetlands, sea level rise. Waves & wave base: the longer the wavelength the bigger the wave, wave base is usually the wavelength. Formation of surf: longer wavelength leads to deeper wavebase and surf originating further from shore. Waves & swells: waves are small, swells are big. The most common component of sand is silicon dioxide in the form of quartz. The earth"s landmasses are made up of rocks and minerals, including quartz, feldspar and mica. Weathering processes such as wind, rain and freezing/thawing cycles break down these rocks and minerals into smaller grains. Which direction is the longshore drift? to the bottom right. Rip current: sand is moving out, hits a sand bar, where it can"t get out. So it flushes out to the sea, creating a rip current. Uplifted shorelines: dominated by wave erosion and sea cliff.