10 Facts About Littoral zone

In coastal ecology, the littoral zone includes the intertidal zone extending from the high water mark to coastal areas that are permanently submerged — known as the foreshore — and the terms are often used interchangeably.

However, the geographical meaning of littoral zone extends well beyond the intertidal zone to include all neritic waters within the bounds of continental shelves.

For lakes, the littoral zone is the nearshore habitat where photosynthetically active radiation penetrates to the lake bottom in sufficient quantities to support photosynthesis.

In oceanography and marine biology, the idea of the littoral zone is extended roughly to the edge of the continental shelf.

Supralittoral zone is the area above the spring high tide line that is regularly splashed, but not submerged by ocean water.

In physical oceanography, the sublittoral zone refers to coastal regions with significant tidal flows and energy dissipation, including non-linear flows, internal waves, river outflows and oceanic fronts.

In marine biology, the sublittoral zone refers to the areas where sunlight reaches the ocean floor, that is, where the water is never so deep as to take it out of the photic zone.

Littoral zone is important for many recreational and industrial purposes, it is often severely affected by many human activities that increase nutrient loading, spread invasive species, cause acidification and climate change, and produce increased fluctuations in water level.

In freshwater situations, the littoral zone is the nearshore habitat where photosynthetically active radiation penetrates to the lake bottom in sufficient quantities to support photosynthesis.

Hence, a large and productive littoral zone is considered an important characteristic of a healthy lake or river.