Constructive Waves Backwash
Constructive waves deposit eroded material along the shore, which eventually builds up over time to form a beach. This occurs when the swash is stronger than the backwash, depositing more sediment than it transports elsewhere.
Although beaches are a landform of deposition, they can also be considered to be a landform of erosion. When waves are huge and high, the backwash is more powerful than the swash, removing more loose material than it deposits. These types of waves are known as destructive waves.
The smallest particles are deposited nearest to the edge of water because the waves break more often along the shoreline and break down the particles through the process of attrition. This is the process in which waves cause particles to crash …show more content…
Smaller particles produce gentler slopes whereas bigger particles create a steeper gradient. This is because fine sediment absorbs very little water and allows most of the water of the swash to return in the backwash. The returning water carries sand in the direction of the ocean and smooths out the gradient. With coarser beaches, more water is absorbed and so there is less backwash. This results in a build up of material with a steep profile.
Bars and Barriers
Bars and barriers are offshore mounds of sediment deposits. They are an accumulation of sediment that was transported there by longshore and tidal currents.
Spits
Spits are extensions of the beaches into the sea. They form as a result of longshore drift.
Longshore drift is the movement of material in a specific pattern along the shore that occurs naturally in waves. Waves usually approach the shore at an angle, as they travel with the direction of the wind. The swash continues travelling at this angle however the backwash sweeps straight down the slope. This creates a zigzag pattern carrying the sediment down the beach. When enough of this sediment is deposited further down, it can continue the beach as it diverges from the coast, which is a spit.
Although beaches are a landform of deposition, they can also be considered to be a landform of erosion. When waves are huge and high, the backwash is more powerful than the swash, removing more loose material than it deposits. These types of waves are known as destructive waves.
The smallest particles are deposited nearest to the edge of water because the waves break more often along the shoreline and break down the particles through the process of attrition. This is the process in which waves cause particles to crash …show more content…
Smaller particles produce gentler slopes whereas bigger particles create a steeper gradient. This is because fine sediment absorbs very little water and allows most of the water of the swash to return in the backwash. The returning water carries sand in the direction of the ocean and smooths out the gradient. With coarser beaches, more water is absorbed and so there is less backwash. This results in a build up of material with a steep profile.
Bars and Barriers
Bars and barriers are offshore mounds of sediment deposits. They are an accumulation of sediment that was transported there by longshore and tidal currents.
Spits
Spits are extensions of the beaches into the sea. They form as a result of longshore drift.
Longshore drift is the movement of material in a specific pattern along the shore that occurs naturally in waves. Waves usually approach the shore at an angle, as they travel with the direction of the wind. The swash continues travelling at this angle however the backwash sweeps straight down the slope. This creates a zigzag pattern carrying the sediment down the beach. When enough of this sediment is deposited further down, it can continue the beach as it diverges from the coast, which is a spit.