A coast – also called the coastline , shoreline , or seashore – is the land next to the sea or the line that forms the boundary between the land and the ocean or a lake . Coasts are influenced by the topography of the surrounding landscape, as well as by water induced erosion , such as waves . The geological composition of rock and soil dictates the type of shore that is created. Earth contains roughly 620,000 km (390,000 mi) of coastline.
106-592: Seashore can be any of the following: Landform [ edit ] Coast Intertidal zone , between high and low water lines National seashore , a special designation in the United States Shore Beach Other [ edit ] Seashore (software) , an open source image editor, based on GIMP written in Cocoa for Mac OS X Carl Seashore , psychologist Seashore (film) ,
212-534: A navy and some form of coast guard . Coasts, especially those with beaches and warm water, attract tourists often leading to the development of seaside resort communities. In many island nations such as those of the Mediterranean , South Pacific Ocean and Caribbean , tourism is central to the economy . Coasts offer recreational activities such as swimming, fishing, surfing, boating, and sunbathing . Growth management and coastal management can be
318-433: A 2015 Brazilian film "Seashore", a song by The Regrettes from the album Feel Your Feelings Fool! Seashore Trolley Museum , a Maine museum MSC Seashore is a Seaside EVO-class cruise ship built for MSC Cruises Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the title Seashore . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change
424-403: A 70 percent probability the world population will not stabilize this century. Population, which had sort of fallen off the world's agenda, remains a very important issue." The table below shows historical and predicted regional population figures in millions. The availability of historical population figures varies by region. The following table gives estimates, in millions, of population in
530-478: A challenge for coastal local authorities who often struggle to provide the infrastructure required by new residents, and poor management practices of construction often leave these communities and infrastructure vulnerable to processes like coastal erosion and sea level rise . In many of these communities, management practices such as beach nourishment or when the coastal infrastructure is no longer financially sustainable, managed retreat to remove communities from
636-533: A lack of accurate records. Haub (1995) estimates that around 40% of those who have ever lived did not survive beyond their first birthday. Haub also stated that " life expectancy at birth probably averaged only about ten years for most of human history", which is not to be mistaken for the life expectancy after reaching adulthood. The latter equally depended on period, location and social standing, but calculations identify averages from roughly 30 years upward. The National Institute of Corrections estimates that
742-412: A large scale. Asia is the most populous continent, with its 4.64 billion inhabitants accounting for 60% of the world population. The world's two most populated countries, India and China, together constitute about 36% of the world's population. Africa is the second most populated continent, with around 1.34 billion people, or 17% of the world's population. Europe's 747 million people make up 10% of
848-424: A low of 7.4 billion to a high of more than 10.6 billion. Projected figures vary depending on underlying statistical assumptions and the variables used in projection calculations, especially the fertility and mortality variables. Long-range predictions to 2150 range from a population decline to 3.2 billion in the "low scenario", to "high scenarios" of 24.8 billion. One extreme scenario predicted
954-499: A massive increase to 256 billion by 2150, assuming the global fertility rate remained at its 1995 level of 3.04 children per woman; however, by 2010 the global fertility rate had declined to 2.52. There is no estimation for the exact day or month the world's population surpassed one or two billion. The points at which it reached three and four billion were not officially noted, but the International Database of
1060-655: A much higher capacity for carbon sequestration than many terrestrial ecosystems , and as such can play a critical role in the near-future to help mitigate climate change effects by uptake of atmospheric anthropogenic carbon dioxide . However, the economic importance of coasts makes many of these communities vulnerable to climate change , which causes increases in extreme weather and sea level rise, as well as related issues like coastal erosion , saltwater intrusion , and coastal flooding . Other coastal issues, such as marine pollution , marine debris , coastal development, and marine ecosystem destruction, further complicate
1166-402: A population of over 139 million in 2020. In just one hundred years, the population of Brazil decupled (x10), from about 17 million in 1900, or about 1% of the world population in that year, to about 176 million in 2000, or almost 3% of the global population in the very early 21st century. Mexico's population grew from 13.6 million in 1900 to about 112 million in 2010. Between
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#17327651353571272-653: A proper name to the coast of the Ligurian Sea , in the form riviera ligure , then shortened to riviera . Historically, the Ligurian Riviera extended from Capo Corvo (Punta Bianca) south of Genoa , north and west into what is now French territory past Monaco and sometimes as far as Marseilles . Today, this coast is divided into the Italian Riviera and the French Riviera , although
1378-435: A provider of sediment for coastlines of tropical islands. Like the ocean which shapes them, coasts are a dynamic environment with constant change. The Earth 's natural processes, particularly sea level rises , waves and various weather phenomena, have resulted in the erosion , accretion and reshaping of coasts as well as flooding and creation of continental shelves and drowned river valleys ( rias ). More and more of
1484-456: A shoreline configuration. Swash is the shoreward flow after the break, backwash is the water flow back down the beach. The relative strength of flow in the swash and backwash determines what size grains are deposited or eroded. This is dependent on how the wave breaks and the slope of the shore. Depending on the form of the breaking wave, its energy can carry granular material up the beach and deposit it, or erode it by carrying more material down
1590-425: A slightly different way in discussions of legal and economic boundaries (see territorial waters and international waters ) or when considering the geography of coastal landforms or the ecological systems operating through the continental shelf ( marine coastal ecosystems ). The research on coastal waters often divides into these separate areas too. The dynamic fluid nature of the ocean means that all components of
1696-454: A steady decline in population growth rate; the global population is expected to reach between 8.3 and 10.9 billion by 2050. 2003 UN Population Division population projections for the year 2150 range between 3.2 and 24.8 billion. One of many independent mathematical models supports the lower estimate, while a 2014 estimate forecasts between 9.3 and 12.6 billion in 2100, and continued growth thereafter. The 2019 Revision of
1802-457: A wide range of biodiversity . On land, they harbor important ecosystems such as freshwater or estuarine wetlands , which are important for bird populations and other terrestrial animals . In wave-protected areas, they harbor salt marshes , mangroves or seagrasses , all of which can provide nursery habitat for fin fish , shellfish , and other aquatic animals . Rocky shores are usually found along exposed coasts and provide habitat for
1908-529: A wide range of sessile animals (e.g. mussels , starfish , barnacles ) and various kinds of seaweeds . In physical oceanography , a shore is the wider fringe that is geologically modified by the action of the body of water past and present, while the beach is at the edge of the shore, representing the intertidal zone where there is one. Along tropical coasts with clear, nutrient-poor water, coral reefs can often be found between depths of 1–50 m (3.3–164.0 ft). According to an atlas prepared by
2014-541: Is a coastline that has experienced a fall in sea level, because of either a global sea-level change, or local uplift. Emergent coastlines are identifiable by the coastal landforms , which are above the high tide mark, such as raised beaches . In contrast, a submergent coastline is one where the sea level has risen, due to a global sea-level change, local subsidence , or isostatic rebound . Submergent coastlines are identifiable by their submerged, or "drowned" landforms, such as rias (drowned valleys) and fjords According to
2120-528: Is connected to marine pollution which can occur from a number of sources: Marine debris (garbage and industrial debris); the transportation of petroleum in tankers , increasing the probability of large oil spills ; small oil spills created by large and small vessels, which flush bilge water into the ocean. Marine pollution occurs when substances used or spread by humans, such as industrial , agricultural and residential waste , particles , noise , excess carbon dioxide or invasive organisms enter
2226-400: Is currently (2015–20) 140 million/year, is projected to peak during the period 2040–45 at 141 million/year and thereafter decline slowly to 126 million/year by 2100. The total number of deaths is currently 57 million/year and is projected to grow steadily to 121 million/year by 2100. 2012 United Nations projections show a continued increase in population in the near future with
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#17327651353572332-541: Is currently 57 million/year and is projected to grow steadily to 121 million/year by 2100. The median age of human beings as of 2020 is 31 years. Estimates of world population by their nature are an aspect of modernity , possible only since the Age of Discovery . Early estimates for the population of the world date to the 17th century: William Petty , in 1682, estimated the world population at 320 million (current estimates ranging close to twice this number); by
2438-415: Is extremely important to geologists. These provide vital clues for reconstructing the geography of ancient continents ( paleogeography ). The locations of these beds show the extent of ancient seas at particular points in geological time, and provide clues to the magnitudes of tides in the distant past. Sediments deposited in the shoreface are preserved as lenses of sandstone in which the upper part of
2544-428: Is given by the statistician Jorgen Randers, who argues that traditional projections insufficiently take into account the downward impact of global urbanization on fertility. Randers' "most likely scenario" reveals a peak in the world population in the early 2040s at about 8.1 billion people, followed by decline. Adrian Raftery, a University of Washington professor of statistics and of sociology, states that "there's
2650-408: Is more important. Macrotidal coasts lack barrier islands and lagoons , and are characterized by funnel-shaped estuaries containing sand ridges aligned with tidal currents. Wave action is much more important for determining bedforms of sediments deposited along mesotidal and microtidal coasts than in macrotidal coasts. Waves erode coastline as they break on shore releasing their energy; the larger
2756-423: Is moved along the coastline by the waves. This forms an abrasion or cliffed coast . Sediment deposited by rivers is the dominant influence on the amount of sediment located in the case of coastlines that have estuaries. Today, riverine deposition at the coast is often blocked by dams and other human regulatory devices, which remove the sediment from the stream by causing it to be deposited inland. Coral reefs are
2862-479: Is that as agriculture advances in creating more food, the population consequently increases—the Neolithic Revolution and Green Revolution often specifically provided as examples of such agricultural breakthroughs. Furthermore, certain scientific studies do lend evidence to food availability in particular being the dominant factor within a more recent timeframe. Other studies take it as
2968-412: Is the counterintuitive observation that the coastline of a landmass does not have a well-defined length. This results from the fractal curve –like properties of coastlines; i.e., the fact that a coastline typically has a fractal dimension . Although the "paradox of length" was previously noted by Hugo Steinhaus , the first systematic study of this phenomenon was by Lewis Fry Richardson , and it
3074-642: Is the fact that average global birth rates , as well as mortality rates , are declining rapidly, as the nations of the world progress through the stages of the demographic transition, but both vary greatly between developed countries (where birth rates and mortality rates are often low) and developing countries (where birth and mortality rates typically remain high). Different ethnicities also display varying birth rates. Birth rate and mortality rates can change rapidly due to disease epidemics , wars and other mass catastrophes, or advances in medicine and public health . The UN's first report in 1951 showed that during
3180-465: Is the largest language family by number of speakers. Standard Arabic is a language with no native speakers, but the total number of speakers is estimated at 274 million people. The largest religious categories in the world as of 2020 are estimated as follows: Christianity (31%), Islam (25%), Unaffiliated (16%) and Hinduism (15%). Six of the Earth's seven continents are permanently inhabited on
3286-417: Is unlikely that there will be another doubling of the global population in the 21st century. The total number of humans who have ever lived is estimated to be approximately 100 billion . Such estimates can only be rough approximations, as even modern population estimates are subject to uncertainty of around 3% to 5%. Kapitsa (1996) cites estimates ranging between 80 and 150 billion. The PRB puts
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3392-462: The Aegean Sea . The following articles describe some coastal landforms: "Coastal waters" (or "coastal seas") is a rather general term used differently in different contexts, ranging geographically from the waters within a few kilometers of the coast, through to the entire continental shelf which may stretch for more than a hundred kilometers from land. Thus the term coastal waters is used in
3498-593: The Black Death pandemic ; it took 200 years for European population figures to recover. The population of China decreased from 123 million in 1200 to 65 million in 1393, presumably from a combination of Mongol invasions, famine, and plague. Starting in AD 2, the Han dynasty of ancient China kept consistent family registers to properly assess the poll taxes and labor service duties of each household. In that year,
3604-456: The US EPA considers this region to extend much further offshore. "Coastal waters" has specific meanings in the context of commercial coastal shipping , and somewhat different meanings in the context of naval littoral warfare . Oceanographers and marine biologists have yet other takes. Coastal waters have a wide range of marine habitats from enclosed estuaries to the open waters of
3710-617: The United Nations , about 44% of the human population lives within 150 km (93 mi) of the sea as of 2013 . Due to its importance in society and its high population concentrations, the coast is important for major parts of the global food and economic system, and they provide many ecosystem services to humankind. For example, important human activities happen in port cities. Coastal fisheries (commercial, recreational, and subsistence) and aquaculture are major economic activities and create jobs, livelihoods, and protein for
3816-686: The Western Interior Seaway , a shallow sea that flooded central North America during the late Cretaceous Period (about 100 to 66 million years ago). These are beautifully exposed along the Book Cliffs of Utah and Colorado . The following articles describe the various geologic processes that affect a coastal zone: Larger animals that live in coastal areas include puffins , sea turtles and rockhopper penguins , among many others. Sea snails and various kinds of barnacles live on rocky coasts and scavenge on food deposited by
3922-703: The developing world have experienced extremely rapid population growth since the early 20th century, due to economic development and improvements in public health. China's population rose from approximately 430 million in 1850 to 580 million in 1953, and now stands at over 1.3 billion. The population of the Indian subcontinent , which was about 125 million in 1750, increased to 389 million in 1941; today, India, Pakistan and Bangladesh are collectively home to about 1.63 billion people. Java , an island in Indonesia , had about 5 million inhabitants in 1815; it had
4028-469: The ocean and cause harmful effects there. The majority of this waste (80%) comes from land-based activity, although marine transportation significantly contributes as well. It is a combination of chemicals and trash, most of which comes from land sources and is washed or blown into the ocean. This pollution results in damage to the environment, to the health of all organisms, and to economic structures worldwide. Since most inputs come from land, either via
4134-596: The ocean . Floating oceanic debris tends to accumulate at the center of gyres and on coastlines, frequently washing aground, when it is known as beach litter or tidewrack. Deliberate disposal of wastes at sea is called ocean dumping . Naturally occurring debris, such as driftwood and drift seeds , are also present. With the increasing use of plastic , human influence has become an issue as many types of (petrochemical) plastics do not biodegrade quickly, as would natural or organic materials. The largest single type of plastic pollution (~10%) and majority of large plastic in
4240-444: The rivers , sewage or the atmosphere, it means that continental shelves are more vulnerable to pollution. Air pollution is also a contributing factor by carrying off iron, carbonic acid, nitrogen , silicon, sulfur, pesticides or dust particles into the ocean. The pollution often comes from nonpoint sources such as agricultural runoff , wind-blown debris , and dust. These nonpoint sources are largely due to runoff that enters
4346-548: The world population is the total number of humans currently alive. It was estimated by the United Nations to have exceeded eight billion in mid-November 2022. It took around 300,000 years of human prehistory and history for the human population to reach a billion and only 218 years more to reach 8 billion. The human population has experienced continuous growth following the Great Famine of 1315–1317 and
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4452-602: The 16th century, maize and cassava have similarly replaced traditional African crops as the most important staple food crops grown on the continent. The pre-Columbian population of the Americas is uncertain; historian David Henige called it "the most unanswerable question in the world." By the end of the 20th century, scholarly consensus favored an estimate of roughly 55 million people, but numbers from various sources have ranged from 10 million to 100 million. Encounters between European explorers and populations in
4558-480: The 1920s and 2000s, Kenya's population grew from 2.9 million to 37 million. The UN estimated that the world population reached one billion for the first time in 1804. It was another 123 years before it reached two billion in 1927, but it took only 33 years to reach three billion in 1960. Thereafter, it took 14 years for the global population to reach four billion in 1974, 13 years to reach five billion in 1987, 12 years to reach six billion in 1999 and, according to
4664-616: The 20th century in Imperial Russia and the Soviet Union was marked by a succession of major wars, famines and other disasters which caused large-scale population losses (approximately 60 million excess deaths). After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia's population declined significantly – from 150 million in 1991 to 143 million in 2012 – but by 2013 this decline appeared to have halted. Many countries in
4770-563: The European Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions , the life expectancy of children increased dramatically. The percentage of the children born in London who died before the age of five decreased from 74.5% in 1730–1749 to 31.8% in 1810–1829. Between 1700 and 1900, Europe's population increased from about 100 million to over 400 million. Altogether, the areas populated by people of European descent comprised 36% of
4876-773: The French use the term "Riviera" to refer to the Italian Riviera and call the French portion the "Côte d'Azur". As a result of the fame of the Ligurian rivieras, the term came into English to refer to any shoreline, especially one that is sunny, topographically diverse and popular with tourists. Such places using the term include the Australian Riviera in Queensland and the Turkish Riviera along
4982-588: The UN estimates gives the "medium variant" population as; nearly 8.6 billion in 2030, about 9.7 billion in 2050 and about 10.9 billion in 2100. In December 2019, the German Foundation for World Population projected that the global population will reach 8 billion by 2023 as it increases by 156 every minute. In a modeled future projection by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation ,
5088-532: The USCB asserted that this occurred in March 2012. Since 1951, the UN has issued multiple projections of future world population, based on different assumptions. From 2000 to 2005, the UN consistently revised these projections downward, until the 2006 revision, issued on 14 March 2007, revised the 2050 mid-range estimate upwards by 273 million. Complicating the UN's and others' attempts to project future populations
5194-482: The United Nations has declared 2021–2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration , but restoration of coastal ecosystems has received insufficient attention. Since coasts are constantly changing, a coastline's exact perimeter cannot be determined; this measurement challenge is called the coastline paradox . The term coastal zone is used to refer to a region where interactions of sea and land processes occur. Both
5300-469: The United Nations reported that the rate of population growth continues to decline due to the ongoing global demographic transition. If this trend continues, the rate of growth may diminish to zero by 2100, concurrent with a world population plateau of 10.9 billion. However, this is only one of many estimates published by the UN; in 2009, UN population projections for 2050 ranged between around 8 billion and 10.5 billion. An alternative scenario
5406-568: The United States Census Bureau placed them in July 1959 and April 1974 respectively. The United Nations did determine, and commemorate, the "Day of 5 Billion" on 11 July 1987, and the "Day of 6 Billion" on 12 October 1999. The Population Division of the United Nations declared the " Day of Seven Billion " to be 31 October 2011. The United Nations marked the birth of the eight billionth person on 15 November 2022. As of 2020,
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#17327651353575512-583: The United States Census Bureau, 13 years to reach seven billion in March 2012. The United Nations, however, estimated that the world population reached seven billion in October 2011. According to the UN, the global population reached eight billion in November 2022, but because the growth rate is slowing, it will take another 15 years to reach around 9 billion by 2037 and 20 years to reach 10 billion by 2057. Alternative scenarios for 2050 range from
5618-571: The average sea level rose by 15–25 cm (6–10 in), with an increase of 2.3 mm (0.091 in) per year since the 1970s. This was faster than the sea level had ever risen over at least the past 3,000 years. The rate accelerated to 4.62 mm (0.182 in)/yr for the decade 2013–2022. Climate change due to human activities is the main cause. Between 1993 and 2018, melting ice sheets and glaciers accounted for 44% of sea level rise , with another 42% resulting from thermal expansion of water . International attention to address
5724-417: The average wind wave and swell conditions are relatively mild. Low energy coasts typically change slowly, and tend to be depositional environments. High energy coasts are exposed to the direct impact of waves and storms, and are generally erosional environments. High energy storm events can make large changes to a coastline, and can move significant amounts of sediment over a short period, sometimes changing
5830-512: The carrying capacity → faster population growth → accelerating growth of the number of potential inventors → faster technological advance → hence, the faster growth of the Earth's carrying capacity for people, and so on. The transition from hyperbolic growth to slower rates of growth is related to the demographic transition. According to the Russian demographer Sergey Kapitsa , the world population grew between 67,000 BC and 1965 according to
5936-461: The coast of Wales and other countries. Coastal fish , also called inshore fish or neritic fish, inhabit the sea between the shoreline and the edge of the continental shelf . Since the continental shelf is usually less than 200 metres (660 ft) deep, it follows that pelagic coastal fish are generally epipelagic fish , inhabiting the sunlit epipelagic zone . Coastal fish can be contrasted with oceanic fish or offshore fish , which inhabit
6042-812: The coast. Estuarine and marine coastal ecosystems are both marine ecosystems . Together, these ecosystems perform the four categories of ecosystem services in a variety of ways: The provisioning services include forest products, marine products, fresh water , raw materials, biochemical and genetic resources. Regulating services include carbon sequestration (contributing to climate change mitigation ) as well as waste treatment and disease regulation and buffer zones. Supporting services of coastal ecosystems include nutrient cycling , biologically mediated habitats and primary production . Cultural services of coastal ecosystems include inspirational aspects, recreation and tourism , science and education. According to one principle of classification, an emergent coastline
6148-437: The combined eastern and western Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. The Plague of Justinian caused Europe's population to drop by around 50% between the 6th and 8th centuries AD. The population of Europe was more than 70 million in 1340. From 1340 to 1400, the world's population fell from an estimated 443 million to 350–375 million, with the Indian subcontinent suffering the most tremendous loss and Europe suffering
6254-567: The continental shelf. Similarly, the term littoral zone has no single definition. It is the part of a sea , lake , or river that is close to the shore . In coastal environments, the littoral zone extends from the high water mark , which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged . Coastal waters can be threatened by coastal eutrophication and harmful algal blooms . The identification of bodies of rock formed from sediments deposited in shoreline and nearshore environments (shoreline and nearshore facies )
6360-555: The deep seas beyond the continental shelves. Many coastal areas are famous for their kelp beds. Kelp is a fast-growing seaweed that can grow up to half a meter a day in ideal conditions. Mangroves , seagrasses , macroalgal beds, and salt marsh are important coastal vegetation types in tropical and temperate environments respectively. Restinga is another type of coastal vegetation. Coasts also face many human-induced environmental impacts and coastal development hazards . The most important ones are: The pollution of coastlines
6466-672: The end of the Black Death in 1350, when it was nearly 370,000,000. The highest global population growth rates , with increases of over 1.8% per year, occurred between 1955 and 1975, peaking at 2.1% between 1965 and 1970. The growth rate declined to 1.1% between 2015 and 2020 and is projected to decline further in the 21st century. The global population is still increasing, but there is significant uncertainty about its long-term trajectory due to changing fertility and mortality rates. The UN Department of Economics and Social Affairs projects between 9 and 10 billion people by 2050 and gives an 80% confidence interval of 10–12 billion by
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#17327651353576572-430: The end of the 21st century, with a growth rate by then of zero. Other demographers predict that the human population will begin to decline in the second half of the 21st century. The total number of births globally is currently (2015–2020) 140 million/year, which is projected to peak during the period 2040–2045 at 141 million/year and then decline slowly to 126 million/year by 2100. The total number of deaths
6678-483: The figure at 117 billion as of 2020, estimating that the current world population is 6.7% of all the humans who have ever lived. Haub (1995) prepared another figure, updated in 2002 and 2011; the 2011 figure was approximately 107 billion. Haub characterized this figure as an estimate that required "selecting population sizes for different points from antiquity to the present and applying assumed birth rates to each period". Robust population data only exist for
6784-418: The following formula: where According to linear interpolation and extrapolation of UNDESA population estimates , the world population has doubled, or will double, in the years listed in the tables below (with two different starting points). During the 2nd millennium , each doubling took roughly half as long as the previous doubling, fitting the hyperbolic growth model mentioned above. However, after 2024, it
6890-460: The global fertility rate was estimated at 2.44 children per woman. In June 2012, British researchers calculated the total weight of Earth's human population as approximately 287 million tonnes (630 billion pounds), with the average person weighing around 62 kilograms (137 lb). The IMF estimated nominal 2021 gross world product at US$ 94.94 trillion, giving an annual global per capita figure of around US$ 12,290. Around 9.3% of
6996-587: The global sex ratio is approximately 1.01 males to 1 female. Approximately 24.7% of the global population is aged under 15, while 65.2% is aged 15–64 and 10.1% is aged 65 or over. The median age of the world's population is estimated to be 31 years in 2020, and is expected to rise to 37.9 years by 2050. According to the World Health Organization , the global average life expectancy is 73.3 years as of 2020, with women living an average of 75.9 years and men approximately 70.8 years. In 2010,
7102-490: The global population was projected to peak in 2064 at 9.73 billion people and decline to 8.79 billion in 2100. Some analysts have questioned the sustainability of further world population growth, highlighting the growing pressures on the environment , global food supplies, and energy resources. In 1975, Sebastian von Hoerner proposed a formula for population growth which represented hyperbolic growth with an infinite population in 2025. The hyperbolic growth of
7208-789: The human uses of the coast and threaten coastal ecosystems. The interactive effects of climate change, habitat destruction , overfishing , and water pollution (especially eutrophication ) have led to the demise of coastal ecosystem around the globe. This has resulted in population collapse of fisheries stocks, loss of biodiversity , increased invasion of alien species , and loss of healthy habitats. International attention to these issues has been captured in Sustainable Development Goal 14 "Life Below Water", which sets goals for international policy focused on preserving marine coastal ecosystems and supporting more sustainable economic practices for coastal communities. Likewise,
7314-670: The last two or three centuries. Until the late 18th century, few governments had ever performed an accurate census. In many early attempts, such as in Ancient Egypt and the Persian Empire , the focus was on counting merely a subset of the population for purposes of taxation or military service. Thus, there is a significant margin of error when estimating ancient global populations. Pre-modern infant mortality rates are another critical factor for such an estimate; these rates are very difficult to estimate for ancient times due to
7420-480: The late 18th century, estimates ranged close to one billion (consistent with current estimates). More refined estimates, broken down by continents, were published in the first half of the 19th century, at 600 million to 1 billion in the early 1800s and 800 million to 1 billion in the 1840s. It is difficult for estimates to be better than rough approximations, as even current population estimates are fraught with uncertainties from 3% to 5%. Estimates of
7526-486: The lessening of the mortality rate in many countries by improved sanitation and medical advances , and a massive increase in agricultural productivity attributed to the Green Revolution . By 2000, there were approximately ten times as many people on Earth as there had been in 1700. However, this rapid growth did not last. During the period 2000–2005, the United Nations estimates that the world's population
7632-421: The link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Seashore&oldid=1249599686 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Coast Coasts are important zones in natural ecosystems , often home to
7738-425: The long-standing trend on all inhabited continents, as well as in most individual states. During the 20th century, the global population saw its greatest increase in known history, rising from about 1.6 billion in 1900 to over 6 billion in 2000 as the whole world entered the early phases of what has come to be called the " demographic transition ". Some of the key factors contributing to this increase included
7844-410: The majority of coastal human populations. Other coastal spaces like beaches and seaside resorts generate large revenues through tourism . Marine coastal ecosystems can also provide protection against sea level rise and tsunamis . In many countries, mangroves are the primary source of wood for fuel (e.g. charcoal ) and building material. Coastal ecosystems like mangroves and seagrasses have
7950-621: The margins of the continental shelves , make up about 7 percent of the Earth's oceans, but at least 85% of commercially harvested fish depend on coastal environments during at least part of their life cycle. As of October 2010, about 2.86% of exclusive economic zones were part of marine protected areas . The definition of coasts varies. Marine scientists think of the "wet" (aquatic or intertidal ) vegetated habitats as being coastal ecosystems (including seagrass, salt marsh etc.) whilst some terrestrial scientists might only think of coastal ecosystems as purely terrestrial plants that live close to
8056-587: The microplastics go through the water filtration system and into the ocean, but because of their small size they are likely to escape capture by the preliminary treatment screens on wastewater plants. These beads are harmful to the organisms in the ocean, especially filter feeders, because they can easily ingest the plastic and become sick. The microplastics are such a concern because it is difficult to clean them up due to their size, so humans can try to avoid using these harmful plastics by purchasing products that use environmentally safe exfoliates. Between 1901 and 2018,
8162-507: The more resistant rocks erode more slowly, remaining as headlands or outcroppings . Parts of a coastline can be categorised as high energy coast or low energy coast. The distinguishing characteristics of a high energy coast are that the average wave energy is relatively high so that erosion of small grained material tends to exceed deposition, and consequently landforms like cliffs, headlands and wave-cut terraces develop. Low energy coasts are generally sheltered from waves, or in regions where
8268-491: The number of people who have ever lived will rise to 121 billion by 2050, 4 billion more than their 2021 estimate. Individuals from a wide range of academic fields and political backgrounds have proposed that, like all other animal populations, any human population (and, by extension, the world population) predictably grows and shrinks according to available food supply, growing during an abundance of food and shrinking in times of scarcity. This idea may run counter to
8374-441: The ocean through rivers, but wind-blown debris and dust can also play a role, as these pollutants can settle into waterways and oceans. Pathways of pollution include direct discharge, land runoff, ship pollution , bilge pollution , atmospheric pollution and, potentially, deep sea mining . Marine debris , also known as marine litter, is human-created solid material that has deliberately or accidentally been released in seas or
8480-485: The oceans is discarded and lost nets from the fishing industry. Waterborne plastic poses a serious threat to fish , seabirds , marine reptiles , and marine mammals , as well as to boats and coasts. A growing concern regarding plastic pollution in the marine ecosystem is the use of microplastics. Microplastics are beads of plastic less than 5 millimeters wide, and they are commonly found in hand soaps, face cleansers, and other exfoliators. When these products are used,
8586-513: The past. The data for 1750 to 1900 are from the UN report "The World at Six Billion" whereas the data from 1950 to 2015 are from a UN data sheet. Using the above figures, the change in population from 2010 to 2015 was: Long-term global population growth is difficult to predict. The United Nations and the US Census Bureau both give different estimates – according to the UN, the world population reached seven billion in late 2011, while
8692-443: The period 1950–55 the crude birth rate was 36.9/1,000 population and the crude death rate was 19.1/1,000. By the period 2015–20, both numbers had dropped significantly to 18.5/1,000 for the crude birth rate and 7.5/1,000 for the crude death rate. UN projections for 2100 show a further decline in the crude birth rate to 11.6/1,000 and an increase in the crude death rate to 11.2/1,000. The total number of births globally
8798-820: The popular thinking that, as population grows, food supply must also be increased to support the growing population; instead, the claim here is that growing population is the result of a growing food supply. Notable proponents of this notion include: agronomist and insect ecologist David Pimentel , behavioral scientist Russell Hopfenberg (the former two publishing a study on the topic in 2001), anthropologist and activist Virginia Abernethy , ecologist Garrett Hardin , science writer and anthropologist Peter Farb , journalist Richard Manning , environmental biologist Alan D. Thornhill, cultural critic and writer Daniel Quinn , and anarcho-primitivist John Zerzan . Scientists generally acknowledge that at least one significant factor contributing to population growth (or overpopulation)
8904-507: The population of Western Han was recorded as 57,671,400 individuals in 12,366,470 households, decreasing to 47,566,772 individuals in 9,348,227 households by AD 146, towards the end of the Han dynasty . From 200 to 400, the world population fell from an estimated 257 million to 206 million, with China suffering the greatest loss. At the founding of the Ming dynasty in 1368, China's population
9010-421: The population of the world at the time agriculture emerged in around 10,000 BC have ranged between 1 million and 15 million. Even earlier, genetic evidence suggests humans may have gone through a population bottleneck of between 1,000 and 10,000 people about 70,000 BC, according to the now largely discredited Toba catastrophe theory . By contrast, it is estimated that around 50–60 million people lived in
9116-611: The rest of the world often introduced local epidemics of extraordinary virulence. According to the most extreme scholarly claims, as many as 90% of the Native American population of the New World died of Old World diseases such as smallpox , measles , and influenza . Over the centuries, the Europeans had developed high degrees of immunity to these diseases, while the indigenous peoples had no such immunity. During
9222-416: The sandstone is coarser than the lower part (a coarsening upwards sequence ). Geologists refer to these are parasequences . Each records an episode of retreat of the ocean from the shoreline over a period of 10,000 to 1,000,000 years. These often show laminations reflecting various kinds of tidal cycles. Some of the best-studied shoreline deposits in the world are found along the former western shore of
9328-579: The sea. Some coastal animals are used to humans in developed areas, such as dolphins and seagulls who eat food thrown for them by tourists. Since the coastal areas are all part of the littoral zone , there is a profusion of marine life found just off-coast, including sessile animals such as corals , sponges, starfish, mussels, seaweeds, fishes, and sea anemones . There are many kinds of seabirds on various coasts. These include pelicans and cormorants , who join up with terns and oystercatchers to forage for fish and shellfish. There are sea lions on
9434-401: The seashore (see also estuaries and coastal ecosystems ). While there is general agreement in the scientific community regarding the definition of coast, in the political sphere, the delineation of the extents of a coast differ according to jurisdiction . Government authorities in various countries may define coast differently for economic and social policy reasons. The coastline paradox
9540-427: The second principle of classification, a concordant coastline is a coastline where bands of different rock types run parallel to the shore. These rock types are usually of varying resistance , so the coastline forms distinctive landforms, such as coves. Discordant coastlines feature distinctive landforms because the rocks are eroded by the ocean waves . The less resistant rocks erode faster, creating inlets or bay ;
9646-404: The slope than up it. Steep waves that are close together and break with the surf plunging down onto the shore slope expend much of their energy lifting the sediment. The weak swash does not carry it far up the slope, and the strong backwash carries it further down the slope, where it either settles in deeper water or is carried along the shore by a longshore current induced by an angled approach of
9752-758: The terms coast and coastal are often used to describe a geographic location or region located on a coastline (e.g., New Zealand's West Coast , or the East , West , and Gulf Coast of the United States .) Coasts with a narrow continental shelf that are close to the open ocean are called pelagic coast , while other coasts are more sheltered coast in a gulf or bay . A shore , on the other hand, may refer to parts of land adjoining any large body of water, including oceans (sea shore) and lakes (lake shore). The Earth has approximately 620,000 kilometres (390,000 mi) of coastline. Coastal habitats, which extend to
9858-492: The threats of coasts has been captured in Sustainable Development Goal 14 "Life Below Water" which sets goals for international policy focused on preserving marine coastal ecosystems and supporting more sustainable economic practices for coastal communities. Likewise, the United Nations has declared 2021–2030 the UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration , but restoration of coastal ecosystems has received insufficient attention. World population In world demographics ,
9964-487: The wave the more energy it releases and the more sediment it moves. Coastlines with longer shores have more room for the waves to disperse their energy, while coasts with cliffs and short shore faces give little room for the wave energy to be dispersed. In these areas, the wave energy breaking against the cliffs is higher, and air and water are compressed into cracks in the rock, forcing the rock apart, breaking it down. Sediment deposited by waves comes from eroded cliff faces and
10070-476: The wave-front to the shore. These waves which erode the beach are called destructive waves. Low waves that are further apart and break by spilling , expend more of their energy in the swash which carries particles up the beach, leaving less energy for the backwash to transport them downslope, with a net constrictive influence on the beach. Riviera is an Italian word for "shoreline", ultimately derived from Latin ripa ("riverbank"). It came to be applied as
10176-407: The waves surge up the river estuaries from the ocean. Geologists classify coasts on the basis of tidal range into macrotidal coasts with a tidal range greater than 4 m (13 ft); mesotidal coasts with a tidal range of 2 to 4 m (6.6 to 13 ft); and microtidal coasts with a tidal range of less than 2 m (7 ft). The distinction between macrotidal and mesotidal coasts
10282-469: The whole ocean system are ultimately connected, although certain regional classifications are useful and relevant. The waters of the continental shelves represent such a region. The term "coastal waters" has been used in a wide variety of different ways in different contexts. In European Union environmental management it extends from the coast to just a few nautical miles while in the United States
10388-684: The world population live in extreme poverty , subsisting on less than US$ 1.9 per day; around 8.9% are malnourished . 87% of the world's over-15s are considered literate . As of January 2024, there were about 5 billion global Internet users, constituting 66% of the world population. The Han Chinese are the world's largest single ethnic group, constituting over 19% of the global population in 2011. The world's most-spoken languages are English (1.132B), Mandarin Chinese (1.117B), Hindi (615M), Spanish (534M) and French (280M). More than three billion people speak an Indo-European language, which
10494-420: The world population observed until the 1970s was later correlated to a non-linear second-order positive feedback between demographic growth and technological development. This feedback can be described as follows: technological advance → increase in the carrying capacity of land for people → demographic growth → more people → more potential inventors → acceleration of technological advance → accelerating growth of
10600-482: The world's people live in coastal regions. According to a United Nations atlas, 44% of all people live within 150 km (93 mi) of the sea. Many major cities are on or near good harbors and have port facilities. Some landlocked places have achieved port status by building canals . Nations defend their coasts against military invaders, smugglers and illegal migrants. Fixed coastal defenses have long been erected in many nations, and coastal countries typically have
10706-613: The world's population as of 2020,while the Latin American and Caribbean regions are home to around 653 million (8%). Northern America, primarily consisting of the United States and Canada, has a population of around 368 million (5%), and Oceania, the least populated region, has about 42 million inhabitants (0.5%). Antarctica only has a very small, fluctuating population of about 1200 people based mainly in polar science stations . Approximately 4.6 billion people live in these ten countries, representing around 57% of
10812-531: The world's population as of July 2023. The UN estimates that by 2023 India will have overtaken China in having the largest population. The tables below list the world's most densely populated countries, both in absolute terms and in comparison to their total populations, as of November 2022. All areas and populations are from The World Factbook , unless otherwise noted. [REDACTED] Palestine Population size fluctuates at differing rates in differing regions. Nonetheless, population growth has been
10918-660: The world's population in 1900. Population growth in the Western world became more rapid after the introduction of vaccination and other improvements in medicine and sanitation . Improved material conditions led to the population of Britain increasing from 10 million to 40 million in the 19th century. The population of the United Kingdom reached 60 million in 2006. The United States saw its population grow from around 5.3 million in 1800 to 106 million in 1920, exceeding 307 million in 2010. The first half of
11024-441: Was expanded upon by Benoit Mandelbrot . Tides often determine the range over which sediment is deposited or eroded. Areas with high tidal ranges allow waves to reach farther up the shore, and areas with lower tidal ranges produce deposition at a smaller elevation interval. The tidal range is influenced by the size and shape of the coastline. Tides do not typically cause erosion by themselves; however, tidal bores can erode as
11130-561: Was growing at an annual rate of 1.3% (equivalent to around 80 million people), down from a peak of 2.1% during the period 1965–1970. Globally, although the population growth rate has been steadily declining from its peak in 1968, growth still remains high in Sub-Saharan Africa . In fact, during the 2010s, Japan and some countries in Europe began to reduce in population , due to sub-replacement fertility rates. In 2019,
11236-475: Was reported to be close to 60 million; toward the end of the dynasty in 1644, it may have approached 150 million. England's population reached an estimated 5.6 million in 1650, up from an estimated 2.6 million in 1500. New crops that were brought to Asia and Europe from the Americas by Portuguese and Spanish colonists in the 16th century are believed to have contributed to population growth. Since their introduction to Africa by Portuguese traders in
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