Editing Coast (section)

==Coastal waters==
{{See also|Eutrophication#Coastal waters}}
[[File:Transport of carbon across territorial boundaries in territorial sea, Exclusive Economic Zone, continental shelf, high seas, and deep seabed.webp|thumb|upright=1.5|Overview of different zones of coastal waters: Input, production, transport and storage pathway of carbon in marine waters, including movement across maritime zones of national jurisdiction: [[Territorial waters|territorial sea]], [[Exclusive economic zone|Exclusive Economic Zone]] (EEZ), [[continental shelf]], [[high seas]] (international waters), and [[Marine sediment|deep seabed]].]]
"Coastal waters" (or "coastal seas") is a term that carries different meanings depending upon the context, ranging from a geographic reference to the waters within a few kilometers of the coast, to describing the entire [[continental shelf]] that may stretch for more than a hundred kilometers from land.<ref>{{Cite book |title=Ocean margin processes in global change: report of the Dahlem Workshop on Ocean Margin Processes in Global Change, Berlin, 1990, March 18–23 |date=1991 |publisher=Wiley |isbn=978-0-471-92673-3 |editor-last=Mantoura |editor-first=R. F. C |location=Chichester, New York |language=en |oclc=22765791 |editor-last2=Martin |editor-first2=Jean-Marie |editor-last3=Wollast |editor-first3=R }}</ref> The term is used in a different manner when describing legal and economic boundaries, such as [[territorial waters]]<ref>{{cite book |last1=Black |first1=Henry Campbell |last2=Garner |first2=Bryan Andrew |title=Black's law dictionary |date=2009 |publisher=West |location=St. Paul, Minn |isbn=978-0314199492 |page=729 |edition=9th}}</ref> and [[international waters]],<ref>{{cite book |last1=Black |first1=Henry Campbell |last2=Garner |first2=Bryan Andrew |title=Black's law dictionary |date=2009 |publisher=West |location=St. Paul, Minn |isbn=978-0314199492 |page=1128 |edition=9th}} (defining "navigable sea")</ref> or when describing the geography of coastal landforms or the ecological systems operating through the continental shelf ([[marine coastal ecosystem]]s).

The dynamic fluid nature of the ocean means that all components of 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.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Simpson |first1=John H. |url=https://www.cambridge.org/core/books/introduction-to-the-physical-and-biological-oceanography-of-shelf-seas/D28A42640D9F3D5BADB6D9533D663ECD |title=Introduction to the Physical and Biological Oceanography of Shelf Seas |last2=Sharples |first2=Jonathan |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2012 |doi=10.1017/CBO9781139034098 |isbn=978-0-521-87762-6 |edition=1}}</ref> 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<ref>{{Cite web |title=coastal waters — European Environment Agency |url=https://www.eea.europa.eu/help/glossary/eea-glossary/coastal-waters |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=www.eea.europa.eu |language=en}}</ref> while in the United States the [[United States Environmental Protection Agency|US EPA]] considers this region to extend much further offshore.<ref>{{Cite web |last=US EPA |first=ORD |date=2017-11-02 |title=Coastal Waters |url=https://www.epa.gov/report-environment/coastal-waters |access-date=2022-06-29 |website=www.epa.gov |language=en}}</ref><ref>USEPA (2001) [https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2018-10/documents/nutrient-criteria-manual-estuarine-coastal.pdf Nutrient Criteria Technical Guidance Manual, Estuarine and Coastal Marine Waters], U.S. Environmental Protection Agency</ref> 

"Coastal waters" has specific meanings in the context of commercial [[Maritime transport|coastal shipping]], and somewhat different meanings in the context of naval [[littoral warfare]].{{citation needed|date=June 2022}} [[Oceanography|Oceanographers]] and [[Marine biology|marine biologists]] have yet other takes. Coastal waters have a wide range of [[marine habitats]] from enclosed [[Estuary|estuaries]] to the [[Pelagic zone|open waters]] of 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]].<ref name="Seekell2021">{{Cite journal |last1=Seekell |first1=D. |last2=Cael |first2=B. |last3=Norman |first3=S. |last4=Byström |first4=P. |year=2021 |title=Patterns and variation of littoral habitat size among lakes |journal=Geophysical Research Letters |language=en |volume=48 |issue=20 |pages=e2021GL095046 |bibcode=2021GeoRL..4895046S |doi=10.1029/2021GL095046 |issn=1944-8007 |s2cid=244253181|doi-access=free }}</ref> In coastal environments, the littoral zone extends from the [[high water mark]], which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently [[Underwater|submerged]].

Coastal waters can be threatened by [[coastal eutrophication]] and [[harmful algal blooms]].<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Maúre |first1=Elígio de Raús |last2=Terauchi |first2=Genki |last3=Ishizaka |first3=Joji |last4=Clinton |first4=Nicholas |last5=DeWitt |first5=Michael |date=2021 |title=Globally consistent assessment of coastal eutrophication |journal=Nature Communications |language=en |volume=12 |issue=1 |page=6142 |doi=10.1038/s41467-021-26391-9 |issn=2041-1723 |pmc=8536747 |pmid=34686688}}</ref><ref name=":32">{{Cite journal |last=Jickells |first=T. D. |date=1998 |title=Nutrient Biogeochemistry of the Coastal Zone |url=https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.281.5374.217 |journal=Science |language=en |volume=281 |issue=5374 |pages=217–222 |doi=10.1126/science.281.5374.217 |issn=0036-8075 |pmid=9660744}}</ref><ref name=":16">{{Cite journal |last1=Glibert |first1=Patricia |last2=Burford |first2=Michele |date=2017 |title=Globally Changing Nutrient Loads and Harmful Algal Blooms: Recent Advances, New Paradigms, and Continuing Challenges |url=https://tos.org/oceanography/article/globally-changing-nutrient-loads-and-harmful-algal-blooms-recent-advances-n |journal=Oceanography |volume=30 |issue=1 |pages=58–69 |doi=10.5670/oceanog.2017.110|doi-access=free |bibcode=2017Ocgpy..30a..58G |hdl=10072/377577 |hdl-access=free }}</ref>