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Lake Erie Management Plan Glossary leSEMP

About the LESEMP In an on-going effort to assist property owners along Ohio’s Erie Anoxic: Describes an area lacking oxygen, typically by providing free technical assistance, the Lake Erie Shore Erosion within water. An anoxic zone can have significant Management Plan (LESEMP) is being developed by the Ohio Department negative impacts on fish and wildlife. of Natural Resources through a partnership between the Office of , Division of Wildlife and Division of Geological Survey. Bank The LESEMP identifies the causes of erosion in specific areas called reaches Bank: A similar to a bluff but lower in which are stretches of shore with similar site conditions. The LESEMP then height, at most reaching only 20 feet above lake level, outlines the most likely means of successful erosion control based on reach- and usually containing a less complex set of soils than specific erosion issues, geology and habitat. The objective of the reach- a bluff. based approach to erosion control is to simplify the decision process while enhancing the effectiveness of solutions to erosion related issues. Bar: An offshore ridge of (usually ) The LESEMP does not contain any regulatory oversight provisions Bank formed by waves and currents. The LESEMP is being developed by the project partners, Ohio

Beach Nourishment: An erosion control measure that involves the placement of sand within the shore zone to build up the thickness and width.

Bar Benthic: Organisms living at the bottom of a body of water or within the sediment of the lakebed; also referring the bottom zone of the lake, including organisms and sediment. In contrast organisms living within the open waters of a body of water are referred to as pelagic. Benthic Bluff: The natural upland area adjacent to the lake Department of Natural Resources Office of Coastal Management, that typically rises 20 feet or more above the elevation Division of Geological Survey and Division of Wildlife. Federal grant of the lake. Bluff is often used synonymously with funding for this project is provided by the National Oceanic and “bank,” although banks are lower in height. A bluff Atmospheric Administration. may consist of bedrock, soil, or a combination of both. Bluff 1 Ohio Lake Erie Shore Erosion Management Plan - Glossary

Breakwater: A large pre-cast Detached Breakwater: A concrete block or armor stone shore-parallel structure structure attached to and built built in shallow water, just at an angle from the shore offshore, to reduce erosion that reduces the energy of and protect by approaching waves, creating a reducing wave action, also calm environment landward referred to as an offshore Detached Breakwater Detached Breakwater of the structure. Breakwater Breakwater breakwater.

Bulkhead: A retaining Dead zone: An area or layer of hypoxic or anoxic waters often devoid of fish wall used to separate water and invertebrates. from land. Bulkheads are typically used for piers and Dike: An artificial wall used boat moorings in areas of to reduce flooding within a low energy. Bulkheads are low-lying . Commonly typically constructed with Bulkhead Bulkhead dikes are constructed of steel sheet-pile in harbors, marinas and along . cohesive sediment or stone. Dike Dike Confined Disposal Facility (CDF): A structure designed and constructed to safely contain Dolomite: A sedimentary rock, similar to contaminated dredged from navigation limestone. See “Limestone”. channels. Sediments are often dredged as a mix of sand, mud and water requiring many CDF CDF - aerial structures to be semi-permeable. The structures are : An accumulation of sand, usually built by intended to retain contaminated sediments while wind and/or storm waves, that Dolomite allowing excess water to return to the Lake. The exists above calm water level structures are typically constructed with steel sheet and usually persists for longer pile and armor stone with layers of smaller stone or than one season, perhaps for gravel at the core. years. Through the intentional human-induced movement of CDF - north extent sand, may be created Cohesive: Sediment containing a significant portion or enhanced. Dunes are often Dune (small) Dune of clays which allows the sediments to bind together, stabilized by vegetation and particularly when wet. function to protect the upland by limiting the number and force of waves reaching inland. Consolidated: Soils, typically clays that have They also serve as habitat for become compressed over time; usually the lower shore birds and invertebrates. layers of soil. Cohesive Dune 2 Ohio Lake Erie Shore Erosion Management Plan - Glossary

Dynamic Equilibrium: A system that is continually : An area of land- typically a bluff- changing with all materials entering the system that projects farther out into the lake than the equal to that exiting. In terms of sediment changes surroundings due to greater resistance to erosion. at a beach, the amount of sand building the beach is the same as the amount of sand eroding due to Herbaceous plants: Plants with soft ro non-woody waves and wind. tissues that die down at the end of the season and Erosion grow again next season; often perennials or annuals. Herbaceous plants Erosion: The wearing away of land or a lakebed by the action of natural forces. (USACE, Living on the Hypoxic: Describes an area of low levels of oxygen Coast) in water that can have a negative impact on fish and invertebrates.

Fish kill: The death of a significant number of fish Invertebrate: An organism lacking a spine. Insects in a relatively short period of time. Fish kills can be Invertebrate Fish Kill and are common invertebrates found in caused by anoxia, pollution, disease, and natural Lake Erie. stresses.

Jetty: A structure used to stabilize a mouth, Glaciolacustrine: The sediment deposited in harbor, or tidal for improving navigational associated with glaciers. The lakes may occur near, (boating) safety. are shore-connected - looking south adjacent to, or otherwise in association with glaciers. features built parallel to the navigation , Glaciolacustrine As with other lake sediments, these sediments are often a river, which usually results in the jetty being typically fine-grained, having been left by calm, perpendicular to the shore. slow-moving waters. Lacustrine: Referring to a lake environment or Groin: A structure that is attached to the shore sediment deposited by a lake. and projects into the lake at or near a right angle Jetty - looking north to the shore, whose function is to build a beach Lakebed downcutting: The gradual erosion of by stopping or slowing the movement of sediment Groin nearshore cohesive soils in the lakebed by wave along the shore. action. In this process, the lakebed is irreversibly deepened, often leading to greater wave energy being Groin Field: A set of typically evenly spaced groins. directed at the base of the bluff.

Limestone: A hard sedimentary rock of calcium Lacustrine Habitat: The physical area and biological conditions carbonate. Limestone, and the similar rock that support the needs of living organisms. Areas Groin Field dolomite, make up the of western Lake with similar physical and biological properties on a large scale are also Erie and are also found at or near ground surface referred to as habitats. For example, the nearshore of Lake Erie is considered at Marblehead, Catawba , and along parts of habitat of fish. On a smaller scale, the sandy bottom of the lake nearshore Sandusky . Bluffs of limestone tend to be erosion would be considered a different habitat than the rocky bottom. resistant, but are not erosion-proof. Limestone 3 Ohio Lake Erie Shore Erosion Management Plan - Glossary

Littoral Zone: The zone parallel to shore where waves break. Lakeward of Re-grading/ Terracing: Re-grading involves the excavation and movement the littoral zone wind and waves have little effect on the movement of sand of bluff material to make the slope along the shore or on and off the shore. For Lake Erie, the littoral zone is of the bluff orem stable (usually similar to the nearshore. less steep) than the original slope. Terracing is more intensive and involves the creation of terraces, or Littoral Drift/Littoral : platforms, along the bluff face, often The current which moves material with switch-backs to create an easy parallel to the shore (also referred to pathway down to lake level. as longshore or alongshore). Littoral Re-grading/ Terracing drift can also be the material that is moved along the shore.

Littoral Drift/Littoral Current Nearshore Zone: The zone parallel Revetment: A sloped onshore structure, usually of to shore influenced by wave energy and littoral currents. For Lake Erie, the stone, built to protect the toe of a bluff ro bank from nearshore zone is similar to the littoral zone, but can be used to refer to erosion caused by wave action. shallow areas extending lakeward of the littoral zone. Revetment Nearshore Ice Complex: The relatively flat ice that extends Rip-rap: A classification of quarried stone of a wide lakeward from the shore. This ice size range, typically much smaller in weight than is often attached to the onshore ice armor stone. Revetments are often referred to as which has a more jagged appearance being constructed with rip-rap. because it has been pushed onto the land. Nearshore Ice Complex Rip-rap

Salient: An extension of beach projecting from the Pelagic: Organisms living within the shore towards an offshore breakwater or island, but or open water of a body of water. In contrast, not connected to it. organisms living at the bottom of a body of water or on or within the sediments of the lakebed are referred to as benthic. Pelagic Salient Sand Bypassing: The intentional redistribution of sand from an updrift area of accretion to areas Pier: A structure extending into the lake that is downdrift that have been starved of sand. This may primarily intended for lake access, watercraft ro occur through pumping, dredging, excavation, or recreation, rather than erosion prevention. other means. Sand Bypassing Pier 4 Ohio Lake Erie Shore Erosion Management Plan - Glossary

Sand : An above-water accumulation of sand : The oscillation of water between two ends of an enclosed basin such built naturally by wave action, often at the end of a as Lake Erie, resulting from a surge in water level. Seiche inducing surges landform. This sand frequently moves with waves are usually due to storm winds that persist for a number of hours. When and currents, unless stabilized with structures. the wind subsides, the surge rebounds to the other end of the lake until the water level stabilizes (similar to water sloshing from one end of a bathtub to another). The Toledo Gauge Station is at the western end of Lake Erie. The Sand Spit Buffalo Gauge Station is at the eastern end. The graphs below illustrate a seiche event that occurred in April 2011.

Seawall: An onshore, vertical shore-parallel structure with the primary function of reducing wave-induced toe erosion. A secondary function of a seawall is to limit waves from overtopping the structure to prevent flooding of the land behind the structure. Seawalls may also be built with a cap on Seawall the top of the structure for lake access.

Seawall 2

Sediment: Material resulting from the weathering of rocks and/or erosion of soils, ranging from microscopic to gravel- sized, that is carried and April 2, 2011 April 15, 2011 deposited by wind, water, or ice. Shale: A bedrock type, the remnants of ancient muds and deposited millions of years ago. Shale Sediment sink: An area where makes up much of the bluff in parts of Cuyahoga, the sediment within the littoral Lorain and Erie counties, and is exposed in the system escapes the influence nearshore as well from Erie to Ashtabula County. of currents and becomes deposited. This area captures Sediment Shale the sediment and does not : A shallow area within a body of water, allow for transport onshore or downdrift. usually due to sediment accumulation that is often a hazard to navigation.

5 Ohio Lake Erie Shore Erosion Management Plan - Glossary

Shore: The area where the Lake meets the land. Till: An unsorted mixture of sediments and soils placed by the glaciers through direct deposit of material either under the ice or following ice melt. Land formations comprised of till may contain a combination of , clay, sand, and gravel.

Shore Till

Shore- Parallel Structures: Shore structures Till Lag: Coarse, unsorted, gravelly material caused oriented so that their long axis is in the same by geologically recent erosion of glacial till features direction as (i.e. parallel to) the shore. Typical such as bluffs. Finer materials are commonly washed structures of this kind include seawalls, revetments, away, leaving the coarse deposits, perhaps with a bulkheads, and offshore breakwaters. sticky coating. Shore- Parallel Shore- Perpendicular Structures: Shore structures Tombolo: An extension of beach projecting oriented so that their long axis extends from the lakeward from the shore and connecting to an shore into the lake and are not parallel with the offshore breakwater or island. shore. Common structures of this kind include jetties and groins. Unconsolidated: Loose soil materials, such as and gravels and upper layers of soils that have not Shore - Perpendicular been compressed or cemented. Unconsolidated

Slumping: A form of slope erosion where large ATMOSP ND HE A RI IC C N A A D E M I C N O I S L sheets of soil move under gravity down the face of a T A R

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U bluff. .S E . C D R E E P M A M RT O MENT OF C Learn More: Slumping ODNR Office of Coastal Management 419.626.7980 | [email protected] | coastal.ohiodnr.gov

Terminal Groin: A groin constructed at the end ODNR Division of Wildlife | wildlife.ohiodnr.gov of a beach enhancement project to contain sand within the project boundaries. Terminal groins are ODNR Division of Geological Survey | geosurvey.ohiodnr.gov often constructed to contain sand pre-fill added to a project site or when a beach enhancement project is located near an existing marina or navigation channel. Terminal Groin

6 Revision: 2020