Argentina

SCHNACK, ENRIQUE; POUSA, JORGE; BÉRTOLA, GERMÁN R.; ISLA, FEDERICO

Encyclopedia of the World’s Coastal Landforms

SPRINGER-VERLAG BERLIN

Lugar: Berlín; Año: 2010; p. 219 - 225

The coastline of Argentina is about 5,700 km long, with great variablity of coastal landforms. The coastal geology ranges from a fairly stable area in the north to a generally rising area in Patagonia and tectonically affected coasts in Tierra del Fuego. A continental shelf, in places, over 800 km wide, is covered by terrigenous sediment accumulated during Quaternary sea-level oscillations. Coastal geomorphology has several interest groups. Some focus on the shaping of coastal landforms in relation to geology, processes, variations in climate, and the relative levels of land and sea. Others concentrate on coastline changes measured over specified periods, with analyses of their causes. Others are interested in nearshore processes and responses, particularly beaches, where morphodynamic models have been most successful. Others look to the coastal area for evidence of Quaternary history, notably changes in land and sea level and climatic variations. Others examine the sources and patterns of movement of coastal sediment, or the array of physical, chemical, and biological weathering processes in the coastal zone. Coastal managers want information on how landforms are changing, what processes are at work on them, how they will change in the future, and what effects will result from the development of various kinds. The chapters presented in this version of Encyclopedia of the World’s Coastal Landforms reflect the interests of their authors, but an attempt is made to serve the wide range of interests of coastal geomorphologists.