Overview

Coastlines are arguably the most important and intensely used of all areas settled by humans, providing natural laboratories for investigating the physical, chemical and biological processes that produce the rich diversity of coastal landforms. The coastline changes, not only over the centuries or decades, but also in a matter of hours and minutes. This rapid development applies both to the form of the coastline and to coastal processes. This text is an introduction to the environments and processes that occur along the world's coastlines. It begins by addressing generic concepts, global issues and processes that are common to most coastal environments, including the morphodynamic paradigm, Quaternary sea-level fluctuations, tides, waves and sediment transport processes. Later chapters address the morphodynamics of the five main types of coastal environments, namely fluvial-, tide- and wave-dominated environments, rocky coasts and coral reefs and islands. The final chapter considers the issue of coastal management and in particular the management of coastal erosion. Each chapter contains boxed sections designed to aid further study by providing either a further analysis or treatment of a particular issue, an interesting application of a principle just discussed in the body of the text, or a virtual field trip.

Full Product Details

9780340764114

Table of Contents

Reviews

At AGBP17.99 for the paperback, it is an accessible and excellent-value text which students should find an invaluable source, whether reading about a topic for the first time or trying to gain understanding in greater depth. It is a book that merits return and is to be recommended as a reference to have on hand for anyone dealing with coastal geomorphology. Progress in Physical Geography

At GBP17.99 for the paperback, it is an accessible and excellent-value text which students should find an invaluable source, whether reading about a topic for the first time or trying to gain understanding in greater depth. It is a book that merits return and is to be recommended as a reference to have on hand for anyone dealing with coastal geomorphology. -- Progress in Physical Geography 20041101

Author Information

Gerhard Masselink is Reader in Coastal Geomorphology at the University of Loughborough, UK. Michael Hughes is Senior Lecturer at the School of Geosciences, University of Sydney, Australia.

Tab Content 6

Customer Reviews

Recent Reviews

Countries Available