A bay and headland are developed when seawater attacks part of the coastal land with alternating bands of soft and hard rocks. The smooth rocks found in the coastal land erode faster than the hard, resistant rocks. Consequently, a portion of land is left protruding out of the sea called headland. A bay is an area next to the headland where soft rocks have eroded. Therefore, a coastline is an area where the alternation of hard rocks and soft rocks occurs (Trenhaile, 2016)). Bays and headlands are less prominent in coastlines with the same types of rocks since the rate of erosion is the same in such a place. The coastlines are frequently affected by physical factors such as tides, currents, and waves. The quality of erosion dramatically depends on the weather of the site. For example, hard rocks do absorb more waves during calm weather, which refract in soft rocks leading to the accumulation of sediments that cause coastal features such as beaches. This paper explains how bays and headlands are affected by physical factors such as tides, currents, and waves. The action of the sea waves on the sea cliffs with soft rocks leads to erosion of rocks leaving only the resistant rocks which protrude forming headlands. Wave refraction involves the breaking of waves when they hit an irregularly shaped coastline such as a headland. It leads to the formation of more secondary features on the headlands such as the cave and the stamp. The entire process of formation of headlands and bays is a product of wave refraction. Wave refraction occurs along the headland as the bay develops, which increases the erosion of the headland (Young & Carilli, 2019). Consequently, this lowers the rate of erosion in the bay due to energy loss as more energy is channeled to the resistant rocks. During wave refraction, the bay is affected by sub-aerial weathering like corrosion, which increases its development. Waves increase erosion on the headland and lower the rate on the bay irrespective of whether the coastline is discordant or accordant. Therefore, this implies that bays and headlands are formed when waves break on a cliff, and the developed energy is focused on a given point that leads to erosion creating headlands and bays. Ocean currents are developed when a large volume of seawater moves in a given direction. Current can occur within a short period, or it can be long-lasting. The movement of ocean currents is mainly affected by the variation in temperature and salinity of the water. Currents occur along exposed beaches (Dolan et al., 2018). They occur at an onshore angle, where they refract in the shallow waters breaking almost parallel to the sea show. The constant movement of water up and down at the shore is called the ocean current. The ocean current hits the cliff, thereby eroding the soft rocks and leaving resistant rocks protruding forming bays and headlands respectively. The movement of ocean currents causes deposits to move up the beach, transporting the sediments away from the direction of coming waves and parallel to the coast. The intensity of currents increases where the water is deep and reduces where the water is shallow due to the presence of a series of headlands and bays. Wave energy concentrates along the headland, and it is distributed across the bay. Therefore, due to the vast power of the sea current, the rate of erosion at the coastlines increases, leading to the formation of headlands and bays. Ocean tides are giant waves that lead to the rising and falling of seawater due to the force of gravity that pulls the moon and the earth. The forces leading to the formation of low tides and high tides. The rise and fall of tides cause erosion leading to the formation of headlands and bays. The shape of headlands and bays affects the magnitude of the tides. Ocean tides help to mold landforms in the coastline through the transportation of sediments, which erodes the walls of the sea cliffs thereby forming bays (Young & Carilli, 2019). The rate of erosion by the ocean tides depends on the slope of the sea cliff. A steeper cliff provides an average gradient that increases the rate of erosion; hence, it can be affected by micro-tidal waves. The distance and position of the sun affect the intensity of tides experienced. Moreover, local winds and weather have an impact on the tides since they move water away from the coastline leading to exposure to low tides. The rate of coastal erosion will increase as a result of global change in climate since the level of the sea will rise. An increase in sea level and erosion will increase the formation of bays and headlands (Gargiulo et al., 2020). An increase in sea level will also increase the intensity of ocean tides which increases coastal erosion leading to the formation of more bays and headlands. Climate change is expected to cause glaciation, which increases sea levels.
References
Dolan, R., Hayden, B., & May, S. (2018). Erosion of the US shorelines. In Handbook of Coastal Processes and Erosion (pp. 285-300). CRC Press.
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Gargiulo, C., Battarra, R., & Tremiterra, M. R. (2020). Coastal areas and climate change: A decision support tool for implementing adaptation measures. Land Use Policy , 91 , 104413.
Trenhaile, A. (2016). Rocky coasts―their role as depositional environments. Earth-science reviews , 159 , 1-13.
Young, A. P., & Carilli, J. E. (2019). Global distribution of coastal cliffs. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms , 44 (6), 1309-1316.
