C
Carrying capacity The limit to the amount of life, or economic activity, that can be
supported by an environment; the reasonable limits of human occupancy
and/or resource use.
CaveA hole made in a cliff or rockface. It is
caused by the sea wearing away a weaker part of the rock.
Char An island formed from silt
deposited in a delta. The land is about at sea level. It is very fertile and
attracts settlers desperate for land. However, it can easily be washed away by
monsoon floods and cyclones. Even if the cyclones do not destroy the chars,
they flood them with salt water which reduces their fertility.
Characterization of exposure A portion of the analysis phase of ecological risk assessment that
evaluates the interaction of the stressor with one or more ecological
entities. Exposure can be expressed as co-occurrence or contact,
depending on the stressor and ecological component involved.
Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD A measure of the amount of oxygen required to oxidize
(with a chemical oxidant) the amount of organic and oxidizable
inorganic compounds in water. Note: both COD and BOD (see above) test
biological demands on oxygen resources.
ClayA fine grained, plastic, sediment with a typical
grain size less than 0.004 mm. Possesses electromagnetic properties which bind
the grains together to give a bulk strength or cohesion.
CliffA steep or vertical rock face
at the edge of the sea or at the back of a beach.
Coastal baseline A constructed, geo-specific, line from which the distance to the edge of the Territorial Sea of a country is plotted.
Coastal defence General term used to encompass both coast protection against erosion and sea defence against flooding.
Coastal DefenseGeneral term used to
encompass both coast protection against erosion and sea defense against
flooding.
Coastal processes Collective term covering the action of natural forces on the shoreline, and nearshore seabed.
Coastal strip A zone directly to the waterline, where only coast related activities take place. Usually this is a strip of some 100 m wide. In this strip, coastal defense activities take place.In this strip often there may be restrictions to land use.
Coastal woodland area of coastal trees and large shrubs located behind the beach, also referred to as coastal forest zone.
Coastal zone A zone comprising coastal waters (including the lands there under) at
the adjacent shorelands; the zone strongly influenced by both sea and
land and including smaller near-coast islands, transitional and
intertidal areas, wetlands(mangroves and marshes) and beaches.
Coastal Zone Management (CZM) A governmental process for achieving sustainable use of resources of
the coastal zone whereby participation by all affected economic
sectors, governmental agencies and non-government organizations is
involved; unified or integrated coastal zone management when the
management actions of the various stakeholders are formally unified and
community participation is emphasized.
Coastguard StationA building usually in
a place with good views of the sea. The coastguard's job is to keep a lookout
for boats and ships in trouble and to organise help - by lifeboat, helicopter,
etc. - when it is needed. They can receive radio messages from ships in
trouble.
Coastline Coastline is the interface between the
ocean and the land -
dynamic morphological
entity
Cobble(Cobblestone) A rock fragment
between 64 and 256 mm in diameter usually rounded.
Conceptual model A conceptual model in problem formulation is a written description and
visual representation of predicted relationships between ecological
entities and the stressors to which they may be exposed.
Consequence In relation to risk analysis, the outcome or result of a hazard being realized.
Conservation The political/social/economic process by which the wise use of resources is exercised and environments are protected.
Container PortA port where
container ships unload and load. The ships carry their goods in large,
box-shaped metal containers and the port has special cranes to load and unload
these. You can sometimes see these containers on lorries being driven to or
from the ports.
Continental SlopeThe declivity from
the offshore border of the continental shelf to oceanic depths. It is
characterized by a marked increase in slope.
Coral Bleaching A phenomenon
in which corals under stress (e.g., by elevated water temperature) expel their
symbiotic algae (zooxanthellae) in large numbers, or the concentration of algal
photosynthetic pigments decreases. As a result, the corals' white skeletons show
through their tissue and they appear bleached.
Coral ReefA coral-algal mound
or ridge of in-place coral colonies and skeletal fragments, carbonate sand, and
organically-secreted calcium carbonate. A coral reef is built up around a
wave-resistant framework, usually of older coral colonies. Extensive limestone
structures built largely by corals. They occur primarily in shallow tropical
and provide habitat for a large variety of other marine life forms.
Counter-measure Action or measure taken to reduce risk. Can be in form of design, operational or maintenance procedures.
Crest Highest point on a beach
face, breakwater, or seawall
Crest LengthThe
length of a wave along its crest. Sometimes called crest width.
Crest of WaveThe highest part of a wave
Cross-sectoral links The connections between different sectors, such as agriculture, health,
infrastructure, etc, particularly, the way in which livelihoods span
these sectors.
Cumulative impacts Environmental impacts caused by multiple human activities; that is, the
combined environmental impacts that accrue from a number of individual
actions, contaminants, or projects, whereby actions which may each be
acceptable individually have a significant impact in combination.
Current,Littoral Any current in the littoral zone caused
primarily by wave action; e.g., longshore current, rip current.
CuspOne of a series of short ridges on the foreshore separated by crescent-shaped troughs spaced at more or less regular intervals. Between these cusps are hollows. The cusps are spaced at somewhat uniform distances along beaches. They represent a combination of constructive and destructive processes.