Unit 7:  External dynamics of the Earth                                      1   2   3

3.6. Seawater

The geological action of the sea water is due to its movements: waves, currents and tides.

It carries out erosion, transportation and deposition.

Waves crash against the rocks, cracking and breaking down them (erosion) and launching the fragments that transport against the coast (marine abrasion). The main erosive marine landforms are cliffs, abrasion platforms and caves, arches and stacks.

Seawater distributes the continental sediments along the seashore, forming typical landforms, such as: beaches, sand bars, sand spits and tombolos, marshes and lagoons.