Marine Spatial Planning

Introduction to Marine Spatial Planning

MSP - Conservation and User Groups

MSP - Public Consultation

MSP - Benefits and Opportunities

MSP - Enabling Policy Environment

Glossary of Terms

Wave Setup

Super elevation of the water surface over normal surge elevation due to onshore mass transport of the water by wave action alone.

Mean Low Water (MLW)

The average height of the low water over a 19-year period. For shorter periods of observations, corrections are applied to eliminate known variations and reduce the results to the equivalent of a mean 19-year value. All low water heights are included in the average where the type of tide is either semi-diurnal or mixed.

Blowout

a depression on the land surface caused by wind erosion.

Natural Resources

May be classified as non-renewable (e.g. coal, oil) and renewable. The latter may further be classified as unconditionally renewable (e.g. solar, tidal or wind energy) and conditionally renewable (e.g. fish, forest products). Conditionally renewable sources will last indefinitely if not over-exploited because that part of the resource that is used can be replaced through natural processes.

Photic Zone

The zone extending downward from the ocean surface within which the light is sufficient to sustain photosynthesis. The depth of this layer varies with water clarity, time of year and cloud clover, but is about 100m in the open ocean.

It may be considered the depth to which all light is filtered out except for about one percent and may be calculated as about two and a half-times the depth of a secchi disk reading.

Surf Zone

The zone of wave action extending from the water line (which varies with tide, surge, set-up, etc.) out to the most seaward point of the zone (breaker zone) at which waves approaching the coastline commence breaking, typically in water depths of between 5 to 10m.

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Marine Spatial Planning