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A marine coastal ecosystem is a marine ecosystem which occurs where the land meets the ocean. Worldwide there is about 620,000 kilometres (390,000 mi) of coastline. Coastal habitats extend to the margins of the continental shelves, occupying about 7 percent of the ocean surface area.
Human activities affect marine life and marine habitats through overfishing, habitat loss, the introduction of invasive species, ocean pollution, ocean acidification and ocean warming. These impact marine ecosystems and food webs and may result in consequences as yet unrecognised for the biodiversity and continuation of marine life forms. [58]
Marine debris, also known as marine litter, is human-created solid material that has deliberately or accidentally been released in seas or the ocean. Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack.
The interaction between marine biota and geologic processes is important to shoreline stability, especially in soft sedimentary environments where sediments are more likely to erode away. Benthic and planktonic organisms, as well as shellfish filter, package, and even bind fine sediments together in tidal regions.
Collapsed Ordovician limestone bank showing coastal erosion.NW Osmussaar, Estonia.. Coastal geography is the study of the constantly changing region between the ocean and the land, incorporating both the physical geography (i.e. coastal geomorphology, climatology and oceanography) and the human geography (sociology and history) of the coast.
Primary coasts are shaped by non-marine processes, by changes in the land form. If a coast is in much the same condition as it was when sea level was stabilised after the last ice age, it is called a primary coast. [27] "Primary coasts are created by erosion (the wearing away of soil or rock), deposition (the buildup of sediment or sand) or ...
Tropical white sand: On tropical islands, the sand is composed of calcium carbonate from the shells and skeletons of marine organisms, like corals and mollusks, as found in Aruba. [4] Pink coral sand: Like the above, is composed of calcium carbonate and gets its pink hue from fragments of coral, such as in Bermuda and the Bahama Islands. [4]
Beach evolution is a natural process occurring along shorelines where sea, lake or river water erodes the land. Beaches form as sand accumulates over centuries through recurrent processes that erode rocky and sedimentary material into sand deposits.