Development Page--Not for Official Use

What Exactly is the "Nearshore"

Longshore currents and nearshore circulation cells including rip currents are generated in the surf zone. Such currents interact with with the waves to redistribute nearshore sand into longshore bars and troughs.

Swash run-up and run-down dominate the water action in the swash zone and along the foreshore of the beach.

Backwash - the seaward return of the water following the uprush or run-up of the waves. Also referred to as backrush or run-down.

Beach profile - a cross-section taken perpendicular to a given beach contour. For example a cross-sectional line extending from the dunes across the beach and offshore through the nearshore zone.

Breaker Zone - the nearshore region where waves approaching the coastline become unstable and break.

Foreshore - the sloping portion of the beach profile from the berm crest, or upper limit of wave swash at high tide, and lower limit of the wave run-down or backwash at low tide.

Longshore Bar - an underwater ridge of sand that runs roughly parallel to the shore. Often exist in a series each of which is located at a different water depth.

Longshore Trough - an elongated depression extending roughly parallel to the shore and any longshore bars. The low point in the beach profile between succesive longshore bars.

Offshore - the portion of the beach profile that extends seaward from the breaker zone to the edge of the continental shelf.

Shoreline - the line of demarcation between the water and the exposed beach. The water's edge.

Surf Zone - nearshore area in which bore-like waves occur following wave breaking. This portion of the nearshore extends from the inner breakers shoreward to the swash zone.

Swash Zone - nearshore area of the beach face that is intermittently covered by run-up of the wave swash and then exposed by the backwash. The zone of wave action on the beach, which moves as water levels vary, extending from the limit of run-down to the limit of run-up.

For additional resources visit Seafriends

Return to Coastal Processes and Shoreline Erosion

Return to GIS for Restored Shore and Habitat on Corpus Christi Bay Educational Outline