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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 ...
A rock, seen at low tide, exhibiting typical intertidal zonation. A specimen of the shell Pinna nobilis exposed by low tide. Because intertidal organisms endure regular periods of immersion and emersion, they essentially live both underwater and on land and must be adapted to a large range of climatic conditions.
A tidal atlas or a tidal stream atlas is used to predict the direction and speed of tidal currents. A tidal atlas usually consists of a set of 12 or 13 diagrams, one for each hour of the tidal cycle, for a coastal region. Each diagram uses arrows to indicate the direction of the flow at that time.
High and low tide in the Bay of Fundy. The theory of tides is the application of continuum mechanics to interpret and predict the tidal deformations of planetary and satellite bodies and their atmospheres and oceans (especially Earth's oceans) under the gravitational loading of another astronomical body or bodies (especially the Moon and Sun).
The main types of intertidal wetlands are mudflats (e.g., mangrove swamps) and salt marshes.The mangrove swamps are encountered along tropical shores and are characterized by tree vegetation, while salt marshes are mostly found in temperate zones and are mostly grass ecosystems.
The most apparent character of the area is the development of tidal channels, affecting mainly the intertidal zone. In this case, the tidal flat is protected seaward by a beach barrier, but in many cases (low-energy waves and longshore currents) the tidal flats may directly pass into a shallow marine environment.
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The Ballantine scale is a biologically defined scale for measuring the degree of exposure level of wave action on a rocky shore. Devised in 1961 by W. J. Ballantine, then at the zoology department of Queen Mary University of London, London, U.K., the scale is based on the observation that where shoreline species are concerned "Different species growing on rocky shores require different degrees ...