Flat coast

On a flat coast, the country gradually changes into the sea. Flat coasts may arise either by the encroachment of the sea on flat land rising or by abrasion in unconsolidated rocks. You can basically be divided into two sections parallel to the coast: the Schorre and the beach.

Flat coasts consist of loose material such as sand and gravel, the wind carried fine grains of sand over the dunes into the country. The sea washed off rocks and sand of the shore and outsourced it to other places.

Littoral series of flat coastal

The typical spatial arrangement of the components created from the sea form is called littoral series.

Barre, beach and tidal creek channel

The littoral series of flat coast begins in permanently flooded shallow water with a sandy or Kiesriff (also called Barre ). The cash is to be more accurate in the wave run-up zone on some flat coasts, parallel to the shore extending elongated back which mainly consists usually of gravel or sand, depending on the material available on the coast. The edges of the bar to fall on both sides from flat. The valley between Barre and the riparian zone is referred to as beach gutter. The Barre suggests that even here, the wave motion, the material transported and rearranged on the seabed. There may also exist a number of bars, the longitudinal axes are all run in parallel and separated by beach also shore parallel channels or gullies. The drainage channels in tidal flats also extend transversely to the coast.

Schorre and beach

The Schorre (or Unterwasserschorre ) on flat coastal engages in the strict sense only the effect of the constantly moving water subject area. This means that the onshore boundary between Schorre beach and thus lies on the line of mean low water. However, this definition is not universal and varies in the literature, often from author to author. As defined by the one of the beach as a shore-based transition to Schorre, which extends to the highest high tide line, so the zone is only periodically or episodically flooded (after a storm surge ) of water, use other authors the term beach as landside area of ​​the flat coast not. You describe the located between the mean low water and mean high water area of the tides as Gezeitenschorre and lying above the mean high water line area as Hochschorre which is reached directly by water only during storms. The fact that the Hochschorre appears much flatter compared to the seaward clearly inclined Gezeitenschorre, it is often referred to as a beach platform, so this area of ​​the beach can be considered generally as an actual beach. The farthest inland reach of storm surges part is bordered by dunes, where the tides can form a sand cliff here.

Barrier beach

At the beach ( the beach platform ) there is often an usually only a few feet high, shore of parallel long sand or gravel ridge which is called the barrier beach. Often located in parts a flat beach groove on its landward side. The beach ridge created by the mittransportierte material of the accrual of waves that are thrown over the middle water level also. The no longer be dissipated by the return current coarse-grained material remains. The location and thickness of the barrier beach is subject to constant seasonal changes. Thus, the body set up by the storm surges of winter winter beach ridge is usually more pronounced and higher on the beach, as the beach ridges created by the summer floods.

Beach losses and gains

General beaches are eroded in part during storm surges and beach profile steepened, while in normal waves on flat coasts there is a greater tendency to Aufhöhung the beach. Not infrequently, entire series parallel one behind the other beach ridges, with the concomitant gradual increase in terrain also the shoreline shifts with time towards the sea. An obvious example of land forming concatenated beach ridge systems is Skagen Odde at the northern tip of Vendsyssel in the far north of Denmark. This headland is still being added by adventitious beach ridges on.

As a coastal protection from erosion serve groynes, stone walls, or Concrete tetrapods, which are intended to act as a breakwater. On the dunes first plants such as settling Sea Buckthorn or beach grass, which prevent erosion by wind.