Oceanography

The study of the sea embracing and indicating all knowledge pertaining to the sea's physical boundaries, the chemistry and physics of the seawater, marine biology, and marine geology.

Glossary of Terms

Shoreline

The intersection of a specified plane of water with the shore or beach (e.g. the high water shoreline would be the intersection of the plane of mean high water with the shore or beach). The line delineating the shoreline on nautical charts and surveys approximates the mean high water line.

Incident wave

A wave moving landward.

Hurricane

An intense tropical cyclone in which winds tend to spiral inward toward a core of low pressure, with maximum surface wind velocities that equal or exceed 33.5 m/sec (75 mph or 65 knots) for several minutes or longer at some points.

Tropical storm is the term applied if maximum winds are less than 33.5 m/sec but greater than a whole gale (63 mph or 55 knots). Term is used in the Atlantic , Gulf of Mexico , and eastern Pacific.

Downdrift

Flow in the direction of net longshore sediment transport.

Offshore

The portion of the littoral system that is always submerged.

Longshore Drift

Movement of (beach) sediments approximately parallel to the coastline.

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Oceanography