Submersion is the sustainable cyclic portion of

coastal erosion Coastal erosion is the loss or displacement of land, or the long-term removal of sediment and rocks along the coastline due to the action of Wind wave, waves, Ocean current, currents, tides, wind-driven water, waterborne ice, or other impacts ...

where coastal sediments move from the visible portion of a

beach A beach is a landform alongside a body of water which consists of loose particles. The particles composing a beach are typically made from Rock (geology), rock, such as sand, gravel, shingle beach, shingle, pebbles, etc., or biological s ...

to the submerged near

shore A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

region, and later return to the original visible portion of the beach. The recovery portion of the sustainable cycle of sediment behaviour is named accretion.

Submersion vs erosion

The sediment that is submerged during rough weather forms landforms including storm bars. In calmer weather waves return sediment to the visible part of the beach. Due to longshore drift some

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

can end up further along the beach from where it started. Often coastal areas have developed sustainable coastal positions where the sediment moving off beaches is sustainable submersion. On many inhabited

coastline A coast (coastline, shoreline, seashore) is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake. Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape and by aquatic erosion, su ...

anthropogenic Anthropogenic ("human" + "generating") is an adjective that may refer to: * Anthropogeny, the study of the origins of humanity Anthropogenic may also refer to things that have been generated by humans, as follows: * Human impact on the enviro ...

interference in coastal processes has meant that

erosion Erosion is the action of surface processes (such as Surface runoff, water flow or wind) that removes soil, Rock (geology), rock, or dissolved material from one location on the Earth's crust#Crust, Earth's crust and then sediment transport, tran ...

is often more permanent than submersion.

Community perception

The term ''erosion'' often is associated with undesirable impacts on the environment, whereas submersion is a sustainable part of healthy foreshores. Communities making decisions about coastal management need to develop understanding of the components of beach recession and be able to separate the component that is temporary sustainable submersion from the more serious irreversible

climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...

erosion portion.

References

Coastal geography Geological processes Physical oceanography {{ocean-stub