Glossary

Covering of brushwood laid down to protect dune grasses and help trap sand.

A sharp vertical temperature gradient in the water whereby the temperature changes rapidly with depth (usually decreases)-occurring within a narrow horizontal layer, it shows on sonar as a sharp discontinuity and has important effects on distribution of life in the ocean.

At or near the mouth of a river, where the tides come in and out. Deltas and estuaries are tidal. As the sea level rises and falls, the sea comes in and out of them.

The alternating horizontal movement of water associated with the rise and fall of the tide caused by the astronomical tide-producing forces.

The volume of water entering an estuary during an incoming tide; in other words, the difference between the volume of water in an estuary at high tide and the volume of water at low tide.

The difference between successive high and low waters; the period of comparison can range over a week, month, year, or other time period.

Wetlands subject to the ebb and flood of the tide, defined by the State Tidal Wetlands Act, officially delineated on maps prepared by the Department of Environmental Conservation, and including the following ecological zones: intertidal marsh; coastal shoals; bars and flats; littoral zone; high marsh or salt meadow; and formerly connected tidal wetlands.

The sea does not stay at the same level all the time. It rises and falls approximately twice a day.

A device for measuring the height (rise and fall) of the tide. Especially an instrument for automatically making a continuous graphic record of tide height versus time.

 A place where tide observations are obtained.

An unvegetated intertidal area (usually mud or sand).

The area of land covered by the ebb and flow of the tide; the area that lies between the higher high water mark and lower low water mark (see “intertidal zone”).
Tie Rod - Steel rod used to tie back the top of a bulkhead or seawall. Also, a U-shaped rod used to tie Sandgrabber blocks together, or a straight rod used to tie Nami Rings together.

Narrow sand deposits connecting a near-shore island with the beach.

Trends are a key element in the vulnerability context. They can have either a positive or a negative effect on livelihoods and involve changes that take place over a longer period of time than is the case with changes brought about by shocks or seasonality.

An instrument for the early detection, measurement, and real-time reporting of tsunamis in the open ocean. Also known as a tsunamimeter. The DART® system and cable deep-ocean pressure sensor are tsunameters.

A shallow water progressive wave, potentially catastrophic, caused by an underwater earthquake or volcano that can rise to great heights and catastrophically inundate shore lands.

Reduced water clarity resulting from the presence of suspended matter; also a measure of the amount of material suspended in the water.

A state of reduced clarity in a fluid caused by the presence of suspended matter.