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Environment
and development in coastal regions and in small islands |
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Coastal region and small island papers 19
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Accretion: accumulation of sand or other beach material due to the natural action of waves, currents and wind; a build-up of sand.
Algae: class of almost exclusively aquatic plants including seaweeds and their fresh-water allies. They range in size from single cell forms to giant seaweeds several metres long.
Algal bloom: an over-growth of algae in water that shade out other aquatic plants and use up the water’s oxygen supply; blooms are often caused by pollution from excessive nutrient input.
Bacteria: mostly microscopic and unicellular organisms with a relatively simple cell structure and lacking a nucleus.
Beach: zone of loose material extending from the low water mark or a point landward where either the topography abruptly changes or permanent vegetation first appears.
Biogenic: originating from living forms.
Breaker: a wave as it collapses on a shore.
Breaker zone: area in the sea where the waves break.
Coliform bacteria: widely distributed micro-organisms found in the intestinal tract of humans and other animals, and in soils.
Coral reef: complex tropical marine ecosystem dominated by soft and stony (hard) corals, anemones and sea fans. Stony corals are microscopic animals with an outer skeleton of calcium carbonate that form colonies and are responsible for reef building.
Cliff: high steep bank at the water’s edge, often used to refer to a bank composed primarily of rock.
Crustacean: animal, usually aquatic, with two pairs of antennae on the head, jointed legs and a hard shell.
Current: flow of air or water in a given direction.
Dune: accumulation of wind-blown sand in ridges or mounds that lie landward of the beach and usually parallel to the shoreline.
Ecology: study of the relationships between organisms and their environments.
Ecosystem: represents a community of plants, animals and micro-organisms that are linked by energy and nutrient flows and that interact with each other and with the physical environment.
Erosion: wearing away of the land, usually by the action of natural forces.
Feldspar: mineral, mixture of calcium, potassium, alumino-silicates.
Fertilizer: substance added to the soil to increase its productivity.
Food chain: shows how each living thing gets its food and how energy is transferred from one organism to another.
Geology: scientific study of the composition, history and structure of the earth’s crust.
Global warming: refers to an average increase in the earth’s temperature, which in turn causes changes in climate.
Greenhouse gases: Any gas that absorbs infra-red radiation in the atmosphere. Greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, halogenated fluorocarbons, ozone, perfluorinated carbons, and hydrofluorocarbons.
Groyne: shore protection structure built perpendicular to the shore; designed to trap sediment.
Headland: cliff or rock promontory jutting out into the sea.
Hepatitis: disease of the liver.
High water mark: the highest reach of the water at high tide. It is sometimes marked by a line of debris, e.g. seagrass, pieces of wood, line of shells.
Human ecology: an academic discipline that deals with the interrelationship between humans and the entire environment; it is an interdisciplinary applied field that uses a holistic approach to address human-environment-development issues.
Hurricane: intense low-pressure weather system with maximum surface wind speeds that exceed 118 km/hr (74 mph).
Inorganic: not organic; composed of lifeless matter.
Jetty: structure projecting into the sea for the purpose of mooring boats; also solid structure projecting into the sea for the purpose of protecting a navigational channel.
Limestone: sedimentary rock consisting essentially of calcium carbonate.
Longshore current: a movement of water parallel to the shore, caused by waves.
Low water mark: the highest reach of the water at low tide.
Magnetite: black mineral composed of iron oxide.
Mineral: natural inorganic substance of specific composition found in the earth.
Monitoring: systematic recording over time.
Nitrate: a salt of nitric acid.
Northeast Trade Winds: dominant wind regime in the Caribbean region; the winds blow from directions between north and southeast.
Nutrient: any substance assimilated by living things for bodily maintenance or to promote growth; the term is often applied to nitrogen and phosphorus, but may also be applied to other essential and trace elements such as carbon and silica.
Offshore zone: extends from the low water mark to a water depth of about 15 m (49 ft) and is permanently covered with water.
Olivine: green, yellow or brown mineral composed of iron and magnesium.
Pathogen: organism causing disease.
Phosphate: a salt of phosphoric acid.
Pollution: the action of contaminating (an environment) especially with man-made waste.
Quartz: a mineral, oxide of silica, often white.
Sand: rock particles, 0.08–4.6 mm (0.003–0.18 inches) in diameter.
Sand mining: removal of large or small quantities of sand from the beach, by machine or by hand, usually for building purposes.
Saturation: state of containing as much solute as can be dissolved.
Sediment: particles of rock covering a size range from clay to boulders.
Seagrass bed: area of the offshore sea-bottom colonized by seagrasses.
Septic tank: outdoor tank in which sewage is broken down by bacteria.
Shore: narrow strip of land in immediate contact with the sea.
Shrub: plant with woody stems branching from the root.
Silica: hard white or colourless mineral with a high melting point.
Silt: fine rock particles, 0.004–0.08 mm (0.00015–0.003 inches) in diameter.
Surf zone: area between the water’s edge and the wave breakpoint.
Suspended matter: particles moving in suspension in the water.
Swell: waves that have travelled out of the area in which they were generated.
Tar: thick, black sticky material obtained from the destructive distillation of coal.
Tarballs: small pieces of tar, often shaped like balls.
Tide: periodic rising and falling of large bodies of water resulting from the gravitational attraction of the moon and sun acting on the rotating earth.
Topography: configuration of a surface including its relief and the position of its natural and man-made features.
Transect: a line cut across (a beach).
Translucent: permitting partial passage of light; not completely transparent.
Tropical storm: low-pressure weather system with maximum surface wind speeds between 61 km/hr and 118 km/hr (38 mph and 73 mph).
Tsunami: a series of giant waves generated by submarine volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides that can rise to great heights and catastrophically inundate low-lying coastal areas.
Turbidity: reduced water clarity resulting from the presence of suspended matter.
Vegetation edge: place where the vegetation (e.g. grasses, vines) meets the bare sand area of the back beach.
Vine: slender stemmed plant that climbs or trails.
Virus: organism smaller than bacteria, causing infectious diseases in plants and animals.
Watershed: geographically defined region within which all water drains through a particular system of rivers, streams or other water bodies.
Wave breakpoint: the point where the waves break.
Wave direction: direction from which the waves approach the shore.
Wave height: the vertical distance between the wave crest and the following wave trough.
Wave period: time period of the passage of two successive crests (or troughs) of a wave past a specific point.
Wind waves: waves formed in the area in which the wind is blowing.
