Beach: A River of Sand
Questions
- Why is the beach referred to as a “river of sand”?
A beach consists of numerous sand particles, and it is called a river of sand because there is a continuous movement of sand between the beach face and the surf zone.
- What are some of the types of sediments that make up beaches around the world?
Across the world, most beaches are made up of sediments, which are Stones, volcanic rocks, pebbles, cobble, seashells, black, and other fragments of rocks called shingles.
- What are the two main minerals that make up the sand on a sandy beach in California?
The sand on the beach in California made up of two main minerals are feldspar and tiny grains of quartz. These two minerals were found to be the components of sand that make the sandy beach of California.
- What sized sediments (e.g., boulders, gravel, sand, clay, silt, and mud) abundantly transported by rivers and streams typically accumulate on the beach?
Grain sized sediments of solid rock are found to accumulate on the beaches and are transported by rivers which enter into the ocean. Rivers carry these sediments which break from the rocks and mountains
- What sized sediments transported by rivers, streams, and waves are typically carried out to sea?
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The sediments that are typically carried into the sea by rivers are fine-grain sediments, which is as a result of rocks weathering.
- What two scientific questions guide our study of beaches?
The study of our beaches gives us a discovery of our climate patterns and also it’s past. It also helps find hydrocarbons.
- What causes solid rock to break down into smaller particles?
The breaks down of solid rocks into small particles is caused by weathering or erosion and chemical reactions that occur on rocks when minerals react with water.
- How does the rock debris get to the ocean?
The way rock debris gets to the ocean is through streams, rivers, and trails that flow continuously down to the beach. In the mountains, the stream and rivers spill over solid rocks, which breaks down through a process called weathering into other into quartz/feldspar and other minerals, which finally ends in the ocean.
- What happens to the rock debris along the way from the mountains to the ocean?
It breaks down into small particles through weathering and chemical reactions, thus refined and sorted.
- What happens to sandcastles built below the high tide line?
The castles are washed away by the waves as the tide gets closer and closer through the offshore and onshore process. The surface is restored to a normal leveled surface by the waves coming from the ocean.
- What happens to sand grains when a wave washes up on a beach?
The sand grains are usually carried back by waves into the ocean, and later they are brought back when waves come back.
- Define the term ‘beach face.’
Beach face is the part of the beach that is washed and shaped by wave actions as the tide rises and falls.
- Define the term ‘surf zone.’
Surf zone is when waves break into the surf zone and lose height and move in and run up into the slope of the beach.
- How does the beach face change from winter to summer?
During the winter season, the beach is seen to have less sand than in the summer season. This makes the reason why the beach face changes from winter to summer. The beach face is found to be full during the summer season.
- What is one possible reason why the beach face changes from winter to summer?
During the summer season, the waves have less energy, and the winter waves are more prominent and sturdy, making the beach face to vary in both seasons.
- What is the effect of small summer (low-energy) waves on the beach face?
During the summer season, small low energy waves carry more sand onto the show forming sand bars, which eventually forms a beach face.
- What is the effect of large winter (high-energy) waves on the beach face?
Sandbars are ridges of sand and move through the changes of the season in waves.
- How does the beach profile in winter differs from a beach profile in summer?
In summer, there is a lot of sand on the shores of the ocean. It has a much steeper slope, and during winter, the sand is pounded by more massive waves, which reduce the amount of sand on the beach.
- What are sand bars?
Sand bars are referred to as ridges of sand that are formed by offshore and onshore waves. These often are usually moved as a result of seasonal changes and waves.
- What do red markers along the shore indicate about the motions of sand along the beach face?
The red markers show how the patterns and movements of the beach face move.
- What does dye indicate about the motions of water inside the breaking waves and outside the breaking waves?
It indicates that the water is moving down the coastline. The outside waves show that the waves do not move at all.
- What is the name of the current caused by waves striking the beach at an angle?
It is called the longshore beach current.
- What does the current do to the sand in the surf zone?
The current moves sand back and forth toward the shore and away from the beach in the surf zone.
- What are the two motions of sand along a beach?
The motions are longshore transport and longshore current. It also can move back and forth and down
- Fill in the blank: The movement of sand back and forth and down the coast is called Longshore transport
- What are groins?
Groins are the structures that are designed to trap sand as it is moved down the beach by the longshore drift current.
- How does the presence of groins provide evidence of longshore transport?
The presence of groins provides evidence on sand accumulated on the same side of each barrier, thus showing the direction that the sand is moving in.
- How is the Santa Barbara harbor kept free of excessive beach sand?
Santa Barbara harbor is kept free of excessive beach sand because the sand flows underwater along the outside of the breakwater and feeds the spit.
- How does the breakwater at Santa Barbara interfere with the river of sand?
It interferes with being sealed off by accumulating sand.
- What is the solution to the “spit” problem at Santa Barbara?
The solution to the spitting problem is to take the sand out of the harbor and put it back into the natural longshore transport system.
- What is a submarine canyon?
It is a steep-sided valley cut into the seabed of the continental slope and sometimes may extend to the continental shelf and has vertical walls
- What is the effect of a submarine canyon on the river of sand?
The effect of a submarine canyon on the river of sand is that it is drained off the canyon and into the bottom of the ocean.
- Where does the sand on a beach eventually go?
Eventually, the sand on the beach is carried deep into the sea, piles up into the sea, and doesn’t accumulate.
- What happens when you build a dam on a river the supplies sand to a beach?
The supply of sand on the beach decreases because sand settles in the dam and leaving less sand to move into the beach.
- If the dam were not dredged, what would happen to the reservoir, and what would happen to the downstream beach?
If the dam were not dredged, its reserving capacity would be low and can erode and damage the system.
- Why does the sand beach terminate 120 miles down the coast from Santa Monica?
The sand beach terminates because the beach narrows its end. The sand then flows into a submarine canyon and goes deep on the bottom of the sea.
- What happens when humans interfere with natural systems?
The natural systems become unbalanced when human beings interfere with it.
- In Florida, where might the sand be coming from, and where might it be going?
The sand comes from the North and goes to the south because of the longshore current and its angles.
- On the Gulf Coast of Florida, does the sand move north or south along the coast? Why?
The sand moves south due to the longshore current.
- On the Atlantic Coast of Florida, does the sand move north or south along the coast? Why?
The reason why sand moves North is because of the current and its angles.
