Coastal Geomorphology: An Introduction

Geomorphology, in simple words, is the study of landforms. These studies incorporate the in-depth understanding of various processes occurring on earth’s surface in form of soil, water and air as the medium which directly or indirectly affects the landscapes. Present day landforms are a result of millions of years of geomorphological processes that continue to occur at their own pace now and in future. Few examples of natural geomorphological processes are soil erosion or deposition, melting of glaciers, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, sea floods, landslides, and avalanche. Coastal geomorphology focuses on history of formation of coasts, the features of coastal areas across the globe, eroding shorelines, processes involved in making the coasts as they are today like winds, ocean currents, and influence of human activities. A major proportion of world’s population resides by the coasts and thus they are affected greatly by the anthropogenic activities. Shoreline recession has become an issue of concern in recent times which is occurring way faster than expected and almost over 70% of the beaches throughout the world are facing this problem. Chapters that deal with erosion of the coasts, coastal management, bioindicators for coastal pollutants and various techniques like remote sensing and GIS for the analysis of the coastal ecosystems have been included to provide a better understanding of present day situation. Studies pertaining to preservation of coastal integrity will be focused in this book. Coasts are also an inevitable part of a country’s economy in terms of tourism and water based trade. The economic and social aspects have also been looked into in the book. I hope the book provides the readers with a thorough understanding of the subject.