Difference between revisions of "Template:This weeks featured article"

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(Carrying capacity analysis)
(Coastal zone characteristics)
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[[Image:sandy coast.jpg|thumb|Fig. 1. Sandy coast. Source: [http://www.dhigroup.com DHI]]]
 
[[Image:sandy coast.jpg|thumb|Fig. 1. Sandy coast. Source: [http://www.dhigroup.com DHI]]]
  
Defining the characteristics of the coastal zone will depend on the coastal type. Sand is a common marine sediment producing sandy beaches resulting from littoral transport. It is these hydrographic conditions that determine the appearance of the coastline. In environments that are fairly calm in terms of wave conditions muddy coast tend to be more dominant, in comparison rocky coasts are continually cut back by the sea. Arctic coastlines are those which are exposed to more than 6 months a year freezing. A barrier coast is formed when a lagoon separates a barrier island (which runs parallel to the shore) from the coastline.  
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Being the interface between the land and the ocean, coastal areas are affected by highly dynamic processes. Coastal spaces also support unique and especially fragile ecosystems, being areas of great environmental and aesthetic value.
  
[[Coastal_zone_characteristics#Sandy beaches|Sandy beaches]]
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For instance, eight of the forty priority habitats listed in the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora Directive are coastal. Approximately a third of the Union's wetlands are located on the coast, as well as more than thirty per cent of the Special Protection Areas designated under the Conservation of Wild Birds Directive. (For more information on these Directives see Bird Directive, Habitat Directive, NATURA 2000)
 
 
[[Coastal_zone_characteristics#Muddy coasts|Muddy coasts]]
 
 
 
[[Coastal_zone_characteristics#Rocky coasts|Rocky coasts]]
 
 
 
[[Coastal_zone_characteristics#Arctic coasts|Arctic coasts]]
 
 
 
[[Coastal_zone_characteristics#Barrier coasts|Barrier coasts]]
 

Revision as of 12:08, 13 May 2008

Coastal zone characteristics

Fig. 1. Sandy coast. Source: DHI

Being the interface between the land and the ocean, coastal areas are affected by highly dynamic processes. Coastal spaces also support unique and especially fragile ecosystems, being areas of great environmental and aesthetic value.

For instance, eight of the forty priority habitats listed in the Conservation of Natural Habitats and of Wild Fauna and Flora Directive are coastal. Approximately a third of the Union's wetlands are located on the coast, as well as more than thirty per cent of the Special Protection Areas designated under the Conservation of Wild Birds Directive. (For more information on these Directives see Bird Directive, Habitat Directive, NATURA 2000)