Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The intertidal zone or foreshore is the area above water level at low tide and underwater at high tide; in other words, it is the part of the littoral zone within the tidal range. This area can include several types of habitats with various species of life , such as sea stars , sea urchins , and many species of coral with regional differences ...
These zones are created by the tidal movements of water along the rocky shores from high to low-tide. They are: The supralittoral zone or splash zone: area above the high-tide mark, which is virtually a terrestrial environment. Occasionally gets splashed, but never gets covered by the ocean. [4] The intertidal fringe: area around the high-tide ...
Salt marsh during low tide, mean low tide, high tide and very high tide (spring tide). A coastal salt marsh in Perry, Florida, USA.. A salt marsh, saltmarsh or salting, also known as a coastal salt marsh or a tidal marsh, is a coastal ecosystem in the upper coastal intertidal zone between land and open saltwater or brackish water that is regularly flooded by the tides.
Besides simply living at lower tide heights, non-motile organisms may be more dependent on coping mechanisms. For example, high intertidal organisms have a stronger stress response, a physiological response of making proteins that help recovery from temperature stress just as the immune response aids in the recovery from infection. [11]
These divisions are the Spray zone, High intertidal zone, Middle Intertidal zone, and Low intertidal zone. The Spray zone is a damp area that is usually only reached by the ocean and submerged only under high tides or storms. The high intertidal zone is submerged at high tide but remains dry for long periods between high tides. [15]
Coastal areas are sometimes flooded by unusually high tides, such as spring tides, especially when compounded by high winds and storm surges. This was the cause of the North Sea flood of 1953 which flooded large swathes of the Netherlands and the East coast of England. When humans modify the coastal environment this can make coastal flooding worse.
The area around the high-tide mark is known as the intertidal fringe. Between the high and low-tide marks is the intertidal or littoral zone. Below the low-tide mark is the sublittoral or subtidal zone. The presence and abundance of different animals and algae vary in different zones along the rocky shore due to differing adaptations to the ...
Floods are caused by many factors or a combination of any of these generally prolonged heavy rainfall (locally concentrated or throughout a catchment area), highly accelerated snowmelt, severe winds over water, unusual high tides, tsunamis, or failure of dams, levees, retention ponds, or other structures that retained the water. Flooding can be ...