Deck 11: Coastal Hazards

Question 1

Which of the following does NOT happen to waves as they reach the headlands of an irregular coastline?

A) They diverge and spread over a larger area.
B) They release their energy when the waves break.
C) Their wave heights increase.
D) They erode the headlands.
E) They slow down.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Which of the following is the best way to measure the wave height of a set of waves at the beach?

A) Hold a meterstick in the water and measure how high the wave goes on the stick
B) Count the number of waves that pass by in a minute
C) Using a stopwatch, time the waves as the crests move by
D) Take a picture of the waves with a camera and measure the distance between the crests with a ruler
E) Using a scale, measure the pressure of the largest wave

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Which of the following statements is TRUE about coastlines?

A) Coastlines are the place where the continental crust meets the ocean crust.
B) Coastlines are constantly changing in shape and length.
C) Coastlines are at the boundaries of different tectonic plates.
D) Coastlines are always wide and sandy.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

What could cause a large change in eustatic sea level?

A) Tides
B) Heavy storms
C) Drought on land
D) Global warming
E) Earthquakes

Question 5

What are swells?

A) Wave troughs
B) Wave crests
C) Waves that are different from other waves
D) Waves generated by high winds
E) Waves in summer water

Question 6

Which type of wave would you expect to see near the cliffs on the West Coast of the United States?

A) Plunging breaker
B) Spilling breaker
C) Tidal wave
D) Sonic wave
E) Tropical wave

Question 7

What characteristic of waves increases as they hit the coastline?

A) Wave height
B) Wavelength
C) Wave period
D) Wave energy
E) Wave speed

Question 8

Which of the following is TRUE about breaking waves?

A) Plunging waves are more typical on flat, sandy beaches.
B) Plunging waves are more typical on steep beaches.
C) Plunging waves are more likely to deposit sediment.
D) Plunging waves are more likely to be seen on wide east coast beaches of the U.S.
E) Plunging waves are gentle with very little force.

Question 9

At what depth do waves begin to slow down and "feel bottom"?

A) At depth equal to twice the wavelength
B) At depth equal to one wavelength
C) At depth equal to ½ wavelength
D) At depth equal to ¼ wavelength
E) Never. Waves don't slow down.

Question 10

Which type of wave would you expect to see on a barrier island on the East Coast of the United States?

A) Plunging breaker
B) Spilling breaker
C) Tidal wave
D) Sonic wave
E) Tropical wave

Question 11

What is the difference between eustatic and relative sea level?

A) Eustatic refers to the global sea level; relative refers to local sea level near land.
B) Eustatic refers to global sea level; relative refers to sea levels with respect to mid-ocean ridges.
C) Eustatic refers to sea levels that don't change; relative refers to local sea level.
D) Eustatic refers to sea levels that are advantageous for shipping; relative sea level refers to high and low tides.
E) There is no difference between them.

Question 12

Why are East Coast beaches in the U.S. wider and sandier in general than West Coast beaches?

A) The East Coast is nearer to a convergent boundary.
B) The East Coast is nearer to a subduction zone.
C) The East Coast is far from a convergent plate boundary.
D) The East Coast is nearer to a deeper ocean.
E) The East Coast has more rocks to erode.

Question 13

Which of the following is NOT a coastal hazard?

A) Coastline erosion
B) Strong coastal currents
C) Storm surge
D) Tsunamis
E) Earthquakes

Question 14

Which of the following coastlines is most affected by rising sea level?

A) The Florida coastlines on the Atlantic Ocean
B) The Minnesota coastlines on Lake Superior
C) The Oregon coastlines on the Pacific Ocean
D) The California coastlines on the Pacific Ocean

Question 15

Water moving parallel to the shore is called

A) beach drift.
B) wave refraction.
C) longshore current.
D) rip current.
E) sand drift.

Question 16

Which of the following statements is TRUE about waves?

A) Waves break because they rise too high in shallow water.
B) Waves diminish greatly in size as they move across the ocean.
C) Waves are mostly random and cannot be predicted.
D) Wavelength increases when the wave approaches the shoreline.
E) Waves speed up when they approach the coastline.

Question 17

If you placed a small boat in waves in the open ocean (not near the shoreline) what would the motion of the boat be?

A) Up and down slowly moving towards shoreline
B) Up and down slowly moving out to sea
C) Circular pattern staying mostly in the same place
D) Circular pattern slowly moving towards the shoreline
E) Circular pattern slowly moving out to sea

Question 18

Which of the following does NOT affect the size of waves?

A) Length of time the wind blows
B) Wind speed
C) Fetch
D) Distance the wind blows over surface
E) Temperature of wind

Question 19

What is the swash zone?

A) Where waves break
B) Between the surf zone and the breaker zone
C) Where the longshore bar forms
D) Where the waves surge up the beach and then flow back towards the ocean
E) Where the highest tides reach

Question 20

If you were watching waves from the shore and started counting the seconds between one crest to the next, what would you be measuring?

A) Wave height
B) Wavelength
C) Wave period
D) Wave energy
E) Wave speed

Question 21

What is the "Managed Retreat Solution"?

A) Adding sand to locations that need sand
B) Adding more jetties and breakwaters
C) Rethinking land uses and developing less of the coastal zone
D) Adding more hard stabilizations to the beach
E) Using a variety of soft stabilizations to save beach

Question 22

What kind of coastal area would you expect to be mostly eroding?

A) Ocean shores with wide beaches
B) Ocean shores with steep bluffs
C) Ocean shores with gently sloping beaches
D) Ocean shores with wide berms

Question 23

How would you spot a rip-current from the shore?

A) Look for an area where waves are moving towards the shore
B) Look for an area where longshore are moving quickly parallel to the shore
C) Look for an area of calm surrounded by breaking waves
D) Look for an area of intense breaking waves
E) Rip currents are not visible from the shore.

Question 24

Waves get sorted into groups far out in the ocean and when they hit the shore they are of similar sizes.

Question 25

Waves break when they reach shallow water because their amplitude grows too large.

Question 26

A rogue wave is a wave that pulls a person out into the ocean rather than towards the shore.

Question 27

Objects in the open ocean move around in circles due to waves, mostly returning to their original positions.

Question 28

Which of the following is a form of soft stabilization?

A) Jetties
B) Breakwaters
C) Seawalls
D) Beach nourishment
E) Groins

Question 29

If you see a wave get taller, the wavelength is what is increasing.

Question 30

The Louisiana coastline on the Gulf of Mexico is probably more vulnerable to coastal hazards than a coastline in northern California. Which statement best explains why this is?

A) The Louisiana coastline is subsiding.
B) The water in the Gulf is warmer.
C) The currents in the Gulf are stronger.
D) The recent oil spill made Louisiana more vulnerable to waves.
E) The beach sand is finer grained and more easily removed by currents in Louisiana.

Question 31

Which of the following does NOT affect the erosion of the coastlines on the Great Lakes?

A) Existence of sand dunes
B) Orientation of the coastline to storm waves
C) Groundwater seepage at the base of the bluff
D) Engineering of the coast with protective structures
E) All of the large ships transporting iron ore creating waves

Question 32

Why are groins NOT a perfect solution for saving beaches from eroding?

A) They increase erosion in the downdrift area.
B) They completely trap all longshore drift.
C) They increase amount of sand on one side of the groin.
D) They are difficult to build.
E) They are difficult to position on the beach.

Question 33

What is the most likely cause of beach erosion on wide beaches?

A) Gulf Stream currents
B) Rip currents
C) Longshore currents
D) Jet stream currents
E) Washing currents

Question 34

Which of the following hard stabilizations is built in an effort to protect boats in the harbor?

A) Breakwaters
B) Seawalls
C) Beach nourishment
D) Groins

Question 35

Which of the following human interactions does NOT increase coastal erosion significantly?

A) Removal of sand dunes
B) Oil pumping
C) Jetty construction
D) Wetland draining
E) People using the beach too much and loosening up the sand

Question 36

Which of the following hard stabilizations is built parallel to shore and is intended to protect homes, cliffs, or bluffs?

A) Jetties
B) Breakwaters
C) Seawalls
D) Beach nourishment
E) Groins

Question 37

West coast coastlines have more cliffs and rocky shorelines due to their proximity to active convergent and transform boundaries.

Question 38

Which of the following is NOT a drawback to using beach nourishment?

A) It can be difficult to transport the large amounts of sand necessary.
B) It can be expensive to transport the large amounts of sand necessary.
C) The sand used for beach nourishment must be chosen carefully to determine if it will fit the ecology of the beach.
D) The replenished sand likely will eventually erode again.
E) It is less aesthetically pleasing than other solutions.

Question 39

What is the effect of leveling the sand dunes on a barrier island?

A) It makes them more vulnerable to storms.
B) It puts more sand on the beach increasing the size of the beach.
C) It puts less sand on the beach decreasing the size of the beach.
D) It requires hard stabilization methods such as seawalls to control rates of erosion.
E) It makes the island less heavy, causing it to rise.

Question 40

Which of the following hazards is NOT directly linked to coastal erosion?

A) Earthquakes
B) Tsunamis
C) Storm surge
D) Landslides
E) River floods

Question 41

There is nothing that can make the global sea level change.

Question 42

If you are wading on the edge of the ocean where the waves move in and out, you are probably in the swash zone.

Question 43

Rip currents are currents that pull objects away from the shore rather than towards it.

Question 44

Breakwaters are often built parallel to the shoreline to protect harbor boats.

Question 45

Relative sea level fluctuates constantly throughout the day.

Question 46

Most of the sand moves perpendicular to shoreline, pushing sand up on the land.

Question 47

Plunging breakers are more common on west coast beaches because of the shape of the shoreline.

Question 48

Groins trap sand on one side, but tend to increase erosion in down drift locations.

Question 49

Swells refer to the trough of the wave.

Question 50

The most effective hard stabilization is beach replenishment.

Question 51

The main problem with engineering solutions to shoreline erosion is that it is expensive, but it generally solves the problem once stabilizations are put in place.

Question 52

Rip currents can often be seen from the shore as spots with more than usual breaking wave activity.

Question 53

Seawalls are usually only a temporary solution to shoreline erosion because they tend to reflect energy back to the ocean causing increased erosion.

Question 54

Climate and tectonic processes are the main contributors to relative sea level change.

Question 55

Beach nourishment is usually the best solution to an erosion problem because it is usually a permanent fix.

Question 56

Beach sand everywhere is the same color because it all comes from eroded oceanic tectonic plates.

Question 57

Cliffs are often a permanent feature of the shoreline due to the strong rocks that compose them.

Question 58

Most of the sand moves parallel to the shoreline due to longshore currents.

Question 59

If you are on the beach on the edge of the water looking out at people sunbathing, you are probably looking towards the berm.

Question 60

Waves approaching an irregular shoreline speed up and break when they hit the headlands and slow down in the quiet beaches.

Question 61

Describe one soft stabilization method, how it works to minimize coastal erosion and the drawbacks of using it.

Question 62

Describe the fundamental differences in the topography and coastal hazards between East Coast U.S. and West Coast U.S. beaches.

Question 63

Describe one hard stabilization method, how it works to minimize coastal erosion and the drawbacks of using it.

Question 64

Describe how storms create waves in the ocean. In addition, describe how the waves move in the open ocean.

Question 65

Describe what is meant by the Managed Retreat Solution and describe how it might be used on a beach or shoreline of your choice.

Question 66

A person decides to build a house on a bluff overlooking a beautiful lake. Explain why this might not be a good investment and how building the house makes the problem greater.

Question 67

From the perspective of someone standing in the water on the shoreline, explain what wavelength, wave height, and period are and how they might measure it for a wave.

Question 68

Give a brief definition for coastal hazards and give three examples.

Question 69

Describe what happens to waves as they hit the shoreline.

Question 70

Explain the differences between eustatic and relative sea level.

Question 71

In one particular coastline, one of the beaches in the northern end is shrinking, whereas a beach further south is growing. Explain why the beaches are growing and shrinking.