GEO 101 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Silt, Wave Height, Coastal Erosion
2 May 2017
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Geology chapter 15: 39% of the us population lives on the coast, coast makes up only 10% of total areas of us, hurricane katrina. Damage: billion: compared to continental crust, oceanic crust is denser, thinner, and younger. Passive continental margin: continental shelf (wide, continental slope, continental rise, abyssal plain. Active continental margin: continental shelf (narrow, continental slope (steeper, trench, abyssal plain, salinity- the measure of all the salts dissolved in water. Typically expressed in parts per thousand (ppt) If all ocean water were evaporated, a 60 meter (197 feet) thick layer of salt would be deposited: ocean water salinity variation is a function of: Water temperature (warm water can hold more salt) Addition of freshwater from river runoff, groundwater, ice melt, and direct rain. Cause: shear of wind blowing over the water surface. Energy decreases with depth: wave morphology. Wave base- the level (in depth) to which a wave affects the water: wave parameters.
