Puget Sound Nearshore Environments Accreting Beach Processes Puget Sound beaches are dynamic areas that are shaped and influenced by eroding bluffs and by wind and water energy. Eroding bluffs are especially important to nearshore habitat, providing important nutrients that are cycled into the system and support nearshore marine life. Beaches typically include several distinct zones and have unique sediment sizes: sand, cobble, or mud depending on the geology of the nearby shoreline, wave exposure, and the character of littoral drift. The ecology of the nearshore depends on the width of these zones and particle size. Download the illustration in Acrobat format. File size 462 Kb, appx download time, 2.6 min using a 28.8 Kbps modem. >Next: Summary Illustration of Nearshore Processes

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