ABSTRACT
Along most coastlines, waves represent the dominant source of energy in the nearshore zone. For this reason, the global distribution of wave environments discussed in Chapter 1 (Figure 1.3) provides a useful first-order approach to classifying coastal environments. Part of the incoming wave energy is reflected at the shoreline and is propagated back to the open sea, very much the way light bounces off a mirror. Most of the incoming wave energy, however, is transformed to generate nearshore currents and sediment transport, and is ultimately the driving force behind morphological change. A sound knowledge of the dynamics of waves is therefore fundamentally important to understanding coastal morphology.
