Understanding Coastal Processes and Features

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto
Geodesy and Geomatic Engineering Study Program

Institut of Technology, Bandung GD-4301 Environmental Geography
Objectives and Contents
Objectives
Students understand physical processes and dynamics of coastal shapes

and features
Contents
- Definitions
- Classification of Coasts (Primary and Secondary)
- Coastal Water Movements
- Coastal Features (Beaches, Dunes, Barrier Islands, etc)
- Coastal Ecosystems (Estuary, Lagoon, Coral Reef, etc)
- Impact of People’s Activities to the Coastline Changes
Definitions
Coastal Zone
The transition zone where the land
meets water, the region that is directly
influenced by marine or lacustrine
hydrodynamic processes
Morphology
systematic study of forms and
processes that create the forms

Definitions
Coast
Area of contact between land and sea
Extend inland until meets a different
geographical setting
Shore
The area extends from the low-water
line to the normal landward limit of
storm wave effects, i.e. the coastline
Coastline/Shoreline
Precise boundary where water meets
adjacent dry land

Classification of Coast
Coasts can be classified by dominant force shaping factor
Primary coasts are dominated by terrestrial influences

 Land erosion coasts
 Coasts built out by land processes
 Volcanic coasts
 Coasts shaped by earth movements
Secondary coasts are coasts that have been changed by marine influence
 Waves and currents
 Stream erosion
 Abrasion of wind-driven particles
 Freeze/thaw cycles
 Slumping

Primary Coast
Anak Krakatoa Island

Secondary Coast
Waves are one of the forces that shape secondary coasts

Secondary Coast
These features are associated with secondary coasts

ANCOL Beach Area
Beach
Sand Spit

Based on sediment composition
Muddy Coast
Ex. Pantai Air Mati, Ketapang, Kalimantan
http://www.borneophotography.org/wp-content/
uploadsgaya/ketapang-trip-2010/pantai%20air%20mati.jpg
Sandy Coasts
Ex. Pantai Santolo, Garut, Jawa Barat

Based on sediment composition
Gravel Coasts
Ex. Pantai Batu Hijau, Ende, Sulawesi
http://thomaspm.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/hujan-di-
pantai-batu-hijau.jpg
Rocky/Cliff Coasts
Ex. Tanah Lot, Bali
http://ilove-indonesia.com/wp-
content/uploads/2010/11/uluwatu-temple.jpg

Based on Hydrodynamic Energy

Riverine-Dominated Coasts
the outflow of fluvial water and sediment dominates
the coastal morphology
Wave Energy-Dominated Coasts

wave action causes significant sediment transport
dominating the beach and shoreface dynamics; basic
features are long, narrow and straight barriers with
well-developed beaches; sand is the most common
sediment type (TR/H = 0.5 to 1)

Based on Hydrodynamic Energy

Tide Energy-Dominated Coasts
tidal currents cause significant sediment transport
dominating the coastal morphology; basic features
are large funnel-shaped embayments (inlets)
containing large linear sand bodies oriented parallel
to tidal currents (TR/H > 3)
Mixed Energy Coasts

both waves and tidal currents cause significant sediment
transport and morphological changes; basic features
are short but rather wide barrier beaches; many
tidal inlets with well-developed ebb deltas are
present (TR/H = 1 to 3)

Coastal Water Movement
Breaking waves provide the energy that changes the shape and
texture of the beach deposits
• As waves shoal (touch bottom) in shallow water

- celerity decreases
- wavelength decreases
- wave height increases
- refraction occurs.
refraction is the bending of waves towards shallower
water so that they break almost parallel to the shore.
• Waves become unstable and break in very shallow water.

The shore is the part of the land that touches the sea. It can be divided
into the: Off shore, Near shore (breaker zone, surf zone, swash zone),
and the Back Shore
Position of the divisions of the shore varies with the tides, advancing
landward with high tide and retreating seaward with low tide.

Waves generate longshore currents that flow parallel to the

beach and rip currents that flow perpendicularly to the beach
• Angle of wave approach is the acute angle (less than 90o)

between the wave crest and the beach
• The direction of longshore current varies with the direction
of wave approach
• Where two opposing longshore currents collide, they form a
swift, narrow, seaward rip current



Beaches
A beach is a zone of loose

particles that covers a
shore
Note that larger particles are

associated with more sloped
beach

Beaches
Kuta Beach, Bali Mallorca, Spain
Pangandaran,
West Java
Waikiki Beach,
Hawaii

Beaches
Beach sediments are moved by currents and waves,

especially breakers
• A beach profile is a cross section of the beach along a line that

is perpendicular to the shoreline
• A storm beach profile displays erosion of the berm and a
broad flat intertidal beach face
• A sand budget is the balance between sediment added to and
sediment eroded from the beach

Beaches

Coastal Cells
Sections of coast in which sand input and sand output are

balanced are referred to as coastal cells
Sand Dunes
Sand dunes are formed by winds blowing sand landward

from the dry part of the beach
• Typically have a sinusoidal profile with
the primary dune at the landward edge
of the beach and possible secondary
dunes located farther inland
• Vegetation on the dunes traps
windblown sand on their downwind
side and promotes dune growth and
stability
• Blowouts are wind-scoured breaks in
the dune or depressions in the dune
ridge and commonly occur if
vegetation is destroyed

Sand Dunes
• Dunes are best developed if

- sand is abundant
- onshore winds are moderately strong and persistent
- the tidal range is large and the beach is wide and gently
sloping
• Dunes act as a natural barrier and prevent inland flooding
• Human activity that damages vegetation leads to dune

destruction by blowouts and washover by storm waves

Sand Dunes
Sylt Island, Germany

Sand Dunes
Parangtritis Beach, Yogyakarta

Cliffed Coast
A sea cliff is an abrupt rise of the land from sea level
• A sea cliff is most vulnerable to erosion at

its base because waves that slam against
the cliff compress air inside cracks which
expands violently, sediment is hurled
against the cliff by the waves, and sea
water dissolve some rock types
• When sufficient rock at the base of the cliff
has been removed, the upper part of the
cliff collapses
• Collapsed material protects the base of the
sea cliff from additional erosion until it is
destroyed and removed

Cliffed Coast
Karang Bolong, Banten
Tanah Lot, Bali

Delta
A delta is an emergent accumulation of sediment deposited at the

mouth of a river as it flows into a standing body of water
• Deltas were named after the Greek

letter delta 
• The three major areas of a delta are
delta plain, delta front and prodelta
• In cross section, a delta’s deposits can
be divided into three sets of beds:
topset beds, foreset beds, and
bottomset beds
• Shape of the delta can be altered by
tides, waves and river deposition
• Reduction in the supply of sediment
to a delta results in delta erosion and
subsidence as the sediments of the
delta compact

Delta
Mahakam Delta, Kalimantan
http://eol.jsc.nasa.gov/sseop/images/ESC/small/ISS004/ISS004-E-9277.JPG

Type of Coastal Settings
The term coast has a much broader meaning than shoreline and
includes many other habitats and ecosystems associated with
terrestrial and marine processes
• The six major coastal settings are: estuary, lagoon, salt marsh, mangrove
swamp and coral reef
• Shorelines are one of the most productive ecosystems and because they are
shallow, they strongly respond to the effects of waves, tides and weather

Estuaries
Estuaries are semi-
enclosed bodies of
water where fresh
water from the land
mixes with sea water
• Estuaries originate as:
drowned river valleys,
fjords, bar-built estuaries,
and tectonic estuaries
• Salinity typically grades
from normal marine salinity
at the tidal inlet to fresh
water at the mouth of the
river
Estuaries

Estuaries
Estuaries can be subdivided into three types based upon the

relative importance of river inflow and tidal mixing
• Salt-wedge estuaries are dominated by the outflow

from rivers
• Partially-mixed estuaries are dominated by neither
river inflow nor tidal mixing
• In well-mixed estuaries tidal turbulence destroys the
water stratification
• Because river discharge and tidal flow vary, conditions
within an estuary can also change, being well-mixed
when river flow decreases relative to tidal mixing, to
becoming a salt-wedge estuary at times of maximum
river discharge
Estuaries

Estuaries

Estuaries

Estuaries

Estuaries
The widely fluctuating environmental conditions in estuaries

make life stressful for organisms
• Estuaries are extremely fertile because

nutrients are brought in by rivers
• Low species diversity
• Great abundance of the species present
• The benthic fauna strongly reflects the
nature of the substrate
• Most fishes are juvenile forms living within
the estuary until they mature and migrate
to the ocean

Estuaries

Lagoons
Lagoons are isolated to semi-enclosed, shallow, coastal bodies of

water that receive little if any fresh water inflow
• Salinities in a lagoon vary from brackish to

hypersaline depending upon climate and
local hydrology
• Bottom sediments are usually sand or mud
• In the tropics, the water column is typically
isothermal
• In the subtropics, salinity generally
increases away from the inlet and the
lagoon may display inverse flow

Mangroves Swamps
Mangroves are large woody trees with a dense, complex root

system that grows downward from the branches
• Mangroves are the dominant plant of the tropical and subtropical intertidal
area
• Distribution of the trees is largely controlled by air temperature, exposure
to wave and current attack, tidal range, substrate and sea water chemistry
• Detritus from the mangrove forms the base of the food chain

Mangroves Swamps
Indramayu, West Java
Sinjai Coast, Central Sulawesi

Coral Reefs
A coral reef is an organically constructed, wave-resistant, rock-like

structure created by carbonate-secreting organisms
• Most of the reef is composed of

loose to well-cemented organic
debris of carbonate shells and
skeletons
• Corals can not survive in fresh,
brackish water or highly turbid
water
• The living part of the reef is just
a thin veneer on the surface

Coral Reefs
Classification of Coral Reefs
Fringing Reefs
cling to the margin of land
Barrier Reefs
separated from land by a
lagoon
Atolls
ring-shaped islands of coral
reef enclosing lagoons

Impact of People on Coastlines
Coastlines are desirable areas for human habitation, but human

activity conflicts with the dynamic state of coastal systems
• Humans try to stabilize the coastline in two ways: by interfering

with longshore sand transport, and by redirecting wave energy to
prevent erosion
• Preventing of sand drift involves jetties and groins
• Redirecting wave energy involves breakwaters and seawalls
• Beach nourishment with sand is expensive and temporary
• An increase in sea level from global warming will cause more land
to be flooded and threaten more coastal buildings

Coastal Protection
Building Migration
Improved Building Structures

Coastal Protection
Beach Nourishment
Dredging

Coastal Protection
Groin
Wave Breaker

Coastal Protection
Revetments
Bulkhead

Coastal Structures
Coastal Protection
Structures
Coastal Bridges and

Pears

Coastal Structures
Harbour
Houses

Coastal Structures
Dubai Palm Jumairah

Uni Arab Emirates  19 km2

Coastal Structures
The World
Dubai – UAE ( 55 km2)

Coastal Structures
Dubai Coastal Area

Coastal Structures
Coastrina
Batam Island
Indonesia
 1.50 km2

Coastal Structures
Pantai Mutiara – Jakarta ( 1 km2)

Coastal Structures
Center Point Indonesia – Makassar ( 1.57 km2)


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Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Geodesy and Geomatic Engineering Study Program

Students understand physical processes and dynamics of coastal shapes

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Coasts can be classified by dominant force shaping factor

Primary coasts are dominated by terrestrial influences

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Anak Krakatoa Island

Waves are one of the forces that shape secondary coasts

These features are associated with secondary coasts

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Based on sediment composition

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Based on sediment composition

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Based on Hydrodynamic Energy

Wave Energy-Dominated Coasts

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Based on Hydrodynamic Energy

Mixed Energy Coasts

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

• As waves shoal (touch bottom) in shallow water

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Waves generate longshore currents that flow parallel to the

• Angle of wave approach is the acute angle (less than 90o)

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

A beach is a zone of loose

Note that larger particles are

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Beach sediments are moved by currents and waves,

• A beach profile is a cross section of the beach along a line that

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Sections of coast in which sand input and sand output are

Sand dunes are formed by winds blowing sand landward

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

• Dunes are best developed if

• Dunes act as a natural barrier and prevent inland flooding

• Human activity that damages vegetation leads to dune

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Sylt Island, Germany

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Parangtritis Beach, Yogyakarta

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

A sea cliff is an abrupt rise of the land from sea level

• A sea cliff is most vulnerable to erosion at

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Karang Bolong, Banten

Tanah Lot, Bali

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

A delta is an emergent accumulation of sediment deposited at the

• Deltas were named after the Greek

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Wiwin Windupranata - Agung Budi Harto

Estuaries can be subdivided into three types based upon the