Why is the coast eroding?
Water is not given enough credit for the role it plays in shaping Earth. Tectonic plates and volcanic eruptions are often cited as the culprits for most land features, but it is water and wave action that shapes our world’s coastlines. When a wave crashes on the shore it carries sediments that are suspended in the water, and it pushes larger sediments along the ground too. read more : How do pearls form? What is coral? When a wave recedes it also takes sediment with it, but rarely at an equal rate. If a wave deposits more sediment than it takes away then this sediment builds up, causing coastlines to extend. Conversely, when more sediment is being removed than added, the coastline recedes or erodes. Coastal erosion is responsible for some of the most amazing landforms we know today, from the Twelve Apostles in Australia to the White Cliffs of Dover in England. The type of coastline that is created from erosion varies greatly depending on any number of factors, including the streng...