GEOL 106 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Coastal Hazards, Coastal Erosion, Sea Level Rise

• School: Queen's University
• Department: Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering
• Course: GEOL 106
• Professor: Treena Bron

Document Summary

The coast is incredibly dynamic and capable of rapid change and oceanic processes converge. Coasts are greatly influenced by plate tectonics: east coast and artic north america is passive. Wide continental shelves with barrier islands and sandy beaches: west coast north america is active. Influenced by climates and organisms: higher latitudes and artic influenced by seasonal ice and glaciers, temperate region coastlines affected by marsh vegetation, tropical and subtropical coasts are affected by mangroves and coral reefs. Most serious coastal hazards include: strong coastal currents, coastal erosion, storm surge, tsunami. About 40% of population live within 100km of coastlines. Canadian seacoasts: longest ocean shoreline in the world, sandy coastlines erode quicker than rocky ones, entire islands off of nova scotia have disappeared, government spends about 1 billion a year on projects related to coastlines. Caused by offshore winds producing friction over the water.