Aquatic Pollution and Coastal Management

Unit 13 : Coastal zone and anthropogenic activities

13.4.Dynamic zone
The coastal zone is not an isolated system. The three subsystems described here interact in many ways and the boundaries between them fluctuate. Rivers and waterways may carry pollutants and sediments resulting from inland activities to the coast, where they have an impact on coastal zone habitats. Agricultural and forestry practices, for example, are known to bring increased sediments and chemicals to the marine environment, where they may degrade the health of the coral reefs. Water currents may carry pollutants from one country’s coastal zone to another’s. Coastal zone is the site of interaction between physical, biological and anthropogenic components.

Climate: temperature, precipitation, evaporation
Coastal Processes: waves, currents, tides and windstorms
Sediment Budget: river discharge, shoreline erosion and offshore deposition
Sea Level Rise: tectonic subsidence, compact ional subsidence
Human Activities: coastal structures, site alteration, water basin development
Coastal Resources:The coastline is very diverse in its geomorphic features and biological resources.