Due West: Ventura, California Marina
The Ventura, California marina was built in the 1950s with little or no understanding of the dredging that would be necessary to counteract the accumulation of sediment underwater. As a result the harbor has not functioned effectively for much of th...
On the Coast: Living with Erosion and Sea Level Rise
While the Atlantic and Gulf coasts are considered to be relatively gentle coastlines, erosional problems can pose problems in these areas, just as they do on the west coast. In Massachusetts, for example, the combination of erosion and sea level ris...
Coasts Are Arbitrary
Geophysicist and geologist Tanya Atwater notes that the line between oceans and continents, commonly known as the coast, is actually very arbitrary and subject to change over time. She also talks about implications of global warming for coastal regi...
Due West: Point Mugu Naval Air Station
Restoration and protection of the Point Mugu, California wetlands has been a great success story, despite the challenges associated with agricultural runoff and other by-products of urbanization.
Due West: Malibu Coast, The
The Malibu coast is plagued by serious erosion problems-especially landslides. Given that coastal erosion is an unavoidable fact of life, the focus in this fabled community is not so much on stopping it, but finding ways to live with it. These inclu...
Due West: Aliso Creek
Aliso Creek, located in Orange County, California, has a consistent beach pollution problem due to rapid development of the upstream environment. As the watershed has been largely paved over, the water is prevented from soaking in and filtering natu...
On the Coast: Coastline Changes Over Time
Whatever a coastline's shape today, it was probably different yesterday, as it will no doubt be tomorrow. Coastal zones are among the most dynamic areas on Earth, subject to a host of factors that make every coast a work in progress.
On the Coast: Coastline Classification
There is no single, universally agreed upon system of classifying coastlines. Given the large number and variety of classification approaches, oceanographers often gravitate towards the method they consider to be most useful in studying coastal zone...
On the Coast: Defining the Coast
There is no universally accepted definition of coast. It is essentially a boundary between the land and the sea, but it's a broad zone rather than a single line.
On the Coast: Human Impact on Coastlines
Like a sparkling ribbon pressed between land and ocean, the coast draws people to it the world over. In the United States, almost eighty percent of the population lives in coastal counties. Unfortunately, most human impact on coastlines is negative.