The current state of coastal process research and the drivers for the Essay

The current state of coastal process research and the drivers for the future - Essay Example The coastal system is a large process that revolves anything in or around coastal areas. The coast is the part of the land adjoining or near the ocean. A coastline is properly, a line on a map indicating the disposition of a coast but the word is often used to refer to the coast itself. According to Carter " the definition of a coast is something being on, near or having to do with a coast". The beach is a large protion of this system. The beach can be defined as the zone above the water line at a shore of a body of water. A beach is discernible because of the accumulation of stone, sand and/or gravel that the tide or waves deposited. It is important to keep in mind that when referring to the coast it should be thought of as a very specific definitioncoast is a very specific efinition. When using the word coast it should only be used when it is applied to the part of an island or a continent that borders an ocean or its saltwater tributatires. (Carter 1988) There are different kinds of coasts that can be referred to. One of these is a pelagic coast. A pelagic coast is a coast which fronts the open ocean. A pelagic coast differs from a coat that I more sheltered such as in a gul or a bay. Do not confuse a coast with a shore. A shore refers to areas of the land which are connected to any large body of water. A shore includes oceans and is called a sea shore, and a shore can adjoin with a lake then it is called a lakeshore. When referring to a river it is is called a bank rather than a coast or a shore. . However, this discussion I concerned only with coastal systems. RECENT PAST &CURENT RESEARCH: Coastal systems are of interest throughout the world. New observation and coastal research centres are being implemented in the United Kingdom (UK) as well as all through the world. This is because there is great interest in the status of the coastal systems due to environmental reasons and because all there is to be known about the coastal process is now known. While there is a great deal of data, available, everyday researchers and scientists find new information that will help in the field of coastal systems science. The new centres and programs that are being installed throughout the world, as well as the ones that currently exist, are being implemented to supply the data and knowledge necessary to forecast physical, chemical and biological changes that occur in coastal and open-ocean ecosystems. (Gubbay 1990) Current research has advanced the instrumentation, communications and modelling capabilities for coastal systems research. These advances have led to the advancement in prediction systems for the coastal areas of the world. These prediction capabilities are important because if success the prediction system will be able to predict certain phenomena-or predict it more accurately. This coastal phenomenon includes flooding and coastal erosion, oxygen depletion due to eutrophication and other potentially harmful to the coastal systems phenomena. (Gubbay 1990) In 1998 a series of studies conducted by Coastal Research of Plymouth, UK revealed new information about open