Coastal engineering

Coastal engineering

A branch of civil engineering that applies engineering principles specifically to projects within the coastal zone including areas nearshore, estuary, marine, and shoreline.

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Coastal engineering

Littoral drift

Engineering; Coastal engineering

The movement of beach material in the littoral zone by waves and currents. Includes movement parallel (long shore drift) and sometimes also perpendicular (cross-shore transport) to the shore.

Swash channel

Engineering; Coastal engineering

(1) On the open shore, a channel cut by flowing water in its return to the present body (e.g., a rip channel). (2) A secondary channel passing through or shoreward of an inlet or river bar.

Fringing islands

Engineering; Coastal engineering

A series of islands that fringe, or mask, a mainland coast often known as barrier islands. The waters landward of such islands are sometimes treated as high seas enclaves or as inland waters.

Neck

Engineering; Coastal engineering

(1) The narrow strip of land which connects a peninsula with the mainland, or connects two ridges. (2) The narrow band (rip) of water flowing seaward through the surf. See also rip current.

Tombolo

Engineering; Coastal engineering

A bar or spit that connects an island to the mainland or to another island. See cuspate spit. Also applied to sand accumulation between land and a detached breakwater.

Slope

Engineering; Coastal engineering

The degree of inclination to the horizontal. Usually expressed as a ratio, such as 1:25, indicating one unit rise in 25 units of horizontal distance; or in a decimal fraction (0.04). Also called ...

The plain composed of horizontal or gently sloping strata of clastic materials, generally representing a strip of sea bottom that has emerged from the sea in recent geologic time. May extend inland ...