Oceanography ›  Unit 4

Unit 4 Marine Geology & Coastal Processes

The seafloor is built by tectonics and buried by sediment. The coast is worn away by waves as fast as it's built back up. This unit gives you both halves of that story \u2014 then hands you a real erosion problem to solve.

📅 Weeks 7–9🏷️ 6 Activities🏷️ 2 Projects🏷️ 1 Problem
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The Path Through Unit 4

A row of houses used to sit much farther from the water. Every year the beach in front of them gets a little narrower \u2014 and the town needs a plan before it runs out of shoreline. Read the full case file →
Activity — builds the skill
Project — applies it, target known
Problem — open-ended coastal case (do last)
AActivity5 days total
4-1-1Plate Tectonics & Seafloor Spreading
2 days→
4-1-2Seafloor Sediments — Origins & Types
2 days→
4-1-3The Rock & Carbon Cycle in the Ocean
1 day→
PProject🕑 2 class days

4-1-4  Cross-Section the Basin

Build a labeled cross-section model of an ocean basin — tectonic features, sediment layers, and all — that could teach the next class what's actually down there.

Turn in: Labeled cross-section model (physical or digital) + a written key explaining each featureOpen →
AActivity6 days total
4-2-1Erosion, Wave Energy & Longshore Drift
2 days→
4-2-2Sea Level Change Over Time — Causes & Evidence
2 days→
4-2-3Landform Case Studies — Barrier Islands, Sea Cliffs & Deltas
2 days→
PProject🕑 3 class days

4-2-4  Read the Shoreline

Pull real shoreline-change data for a coastline of your choice and figure out what it's actually telling you — then propose a management strategy based on what you find.

Turn in: Shoreline-change analysis + a one-page management strategy recommendationOpen →
BProblem🕑 4 class days

4-3-1  Hold the Line

A coastal town is losing several feet of beach a year. Using geological and sea-level data, you propose a mitigation plan — and defend it against cost, effectiveness, environmental impact, and what the people who live there actually want.

Turn in: Mitigation plan proposal with supporting data, a cost/impact evaluation, and a community presentation summaryOpen →