Coasts Glossary

Our Nation’s coast is almost 100,000 miles and is home to more than 40% of population and supports critical habitat. USGS coastal scientists work to better understand these dynamic ecosystems to help safeguard coastal communities and conserve valuable resources. Get familiar with coasts terminology featured in our Glossary.

0-9 A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Animation shows tides washing away brown mud from the shoreline and eroding green marshgrass. A graph follows the tide.

Accretion

the gradual accumulation of soil layers

People recreating on the Chattahoochee River in Atlanta.

Anthropogenic

human-caused, or derived from the actions of people

B

Coastal wetland ecosystems in Jamaica Bay, New York,

Blue carbon

carbon captured by the world's ocean and coastal ecosystems

C

Carbon sequestration

a natural or artificial process by which carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere and held in solid or liquid form

Carbonate

a salt of the anion H2CO3, typically by reaction with carbon dioxide

View looks along an ice-rich permafrost bluff that is eroding muddy chunks of tundra onto a sandy beach.

Coastal resilience

building the ability of a community to “bounce back” after hazardous events such as hurricanes, coastal storms, and flooding – rather than simply reacting to impacts

salt marsh and mangrove trees in coastal wetland

Coastal wetlands

saltwater and freshwater wetlands located within coastal watersheds

E

Cars, pedestrians, and homes alongside a coast with big waves hitting the cliffs and sections of the cliff have collapsed.

Erosion

the action of surface processes (such as water flow or wind) that removes soil, rock, or dissolved material from one locatio, and then transports it to another location where it is deposited.