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Encyclopedia of Coastal Science pp 1–5Cite as

Geographical Coastal Zonality

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

The term “coastal zone” is used in scientific papers to describe the coastal environment or the region between the foreshore and the upper supratidal along a coastline. “Zones” in geoscience, however, are latitude-parallel belts between the equator and the poles, established in the first order by the different radiation/insolation on our globe.

Nearly all macro-patterns on Earth, which depend on climatic influences, like vegetation, soil formation, or forms of relief and inherent processes, show a zonal distribution. For the latter, including both relic and contemporary systems, this has been accepted for decades (Murphy 1968), and the term “climatic geomorphology” has therefore been established. Regarding coastal features and processes, however, these are looked upon for a long time mostly as a zonal , because cliffs, beaches, lagoons and barriers, deltas, etc. can be found in all latitudes; and rock-depending forms are regarded as a zonal,...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut für Geographiedidaktik, Universität zu Köln, Cologne, Germany

    Dieter H. Kelletat

Authors
  1. Dieter H. Kelletat
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Dieter H. Kelletat .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Coastal Education & Research Foundation, Fletcher, North Carolina, USA

    Charles W. Finkl

  2. Coastal Education & Research Foundation , Coconut Creek, Florida, USA

    Christopher Makowski

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© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

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Kelletat, D.H. (2017). Geographical Coastal Zonality. In: Finkl, C., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science . Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_150-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-48657-4_150-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-48657-4

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-48657-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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