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Meteorological Effects on Coasts

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

The most dramatic and long-lasting meteorological impact on many coasts is in response to storms. Virtually, every continent on earth is variously impacted by storms, the degree to which being a function of many factors including storm intensity, duration and path, as well as antecedent geology of the inner shelf and coast. Cyclones that exert important controls on coasts are generally categorized as hurricanes, tropical, and extratropical storms. Land-and sea-breezes are observed along many coasts and are in response to differential temperatures during day and night; onshore winds during the day develop nearshore sea state, whereas offshore flow in the evening causes wave decay close to shore. Neither effect can equal the impacts of waves, currents, and winds generated during cyclones. The low latitudes are dominated by tropical storms and hurricanes, whereas the mid-and higher-latitudes experience extratropical storms and weather fronts. Frontal systems are associated with...

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Correspondence to Gregory W. Stone .

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Stone, G.W., Muller, R.A. (2019). Meteorological Effects on Coasts. In: Finkl, C.W., Makowski, C. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93806-6_211

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