coastrelated

Coastrelated is an informal adjective used to describe topics, data, and phenomena that pertain to coastlines and coastal zones. It encompasses physical processes such as coastal erosion, tides, wave action, sediment transport, and sea-level variation; ecological systems including beaches, dunes, estuaries, and coastal wetlands; and human dimensions like port operations, tourism, fisheries, coastal infrastructure, and hazard mitigation. Although not a formal term in standard dictionaries, coastrelated appears in academic, planning, and data-labeling contexts as a shorthand to group shoreline-focused content.

In practice, coastrelated is used to tag datasets, models, and analyses that deal with nearshore environments or coastal hazards. Examples include coastrelated time series of shoreline position, coastrelated hazard maps, and coastrelated climate projections. It is often hyphenated as coast-related in formal writing, and commonly paired with terms like coastward or offshore where appropriate.

Relation to other terms: The term is related to the broader category coastal studies, littoral zone research, and shoreline management, and should be distinguished from inland or offshore contexts. In geographic information systems and environmental modeling, coastrelated layers may include shoreline vectors, bathymetry, coastal vegetation, and storm surge extents.

Limitations: The lack of a standardized definition means readers should supply explicit scope when using the term to avoid ambiguity. When introducing coastrelated in a document, it is helpful to define the intended geographical and thematic boundaries to ensure clear interpretation.