Marine habitats
Different disciplines and agencies divide the littoral zone into different subregions, according to how they want to view the zone. This diagram shows the way the United States Navy views the zone.
	Littoral zone
	Intertidal zone
	Estuaries
	Kelp forests
	Coral reefs
	Ocean banks
	Continental shelf
	Neritic zone
	Straits
	Pelagic zone
	Oceanic zone
	Seamounts
	Hydrothermal vents
	Cold seeps
	Demersal zone
	Benthic zone
v t e

The littoral zone is the part of a sea, lake or river that is close to the shore. In coastal environments the littoral zone extends from the high water mark, which is rarely inundated, to shoreline areas that are permanently submerged. It always includes this intertidal zone and is often used to mean the same as the intertidal zone. However, the meaning of "littoral zone" can extend well beyond the intertidal zone.

There is no single definition. What is regarded as the full extent of the littoral zone, and the way the littoral zone is divided into subregions, varies in different contexts (lakes and rivers have their own definitions). The use of the term also varies from one part of the world to another, and between different disciplines. For example, military commanders speak of the littoral in ways that are quite different from marine biologists.

The adjacency of water gives a number of distinctive characteristics to littoral regions. The erosive power of water results in particular types of landforms, such as sand dunes, and estuaries. The natural movement of the littoral along the coast is called the littoral drift. Biologically, the ready availability of water enables a greater variety of plant and animal life, and particularly the formation of extensive wetlands. In addition, the the additional local humidity due to evaporation usually creates a microclimate supporting unique types of organisms.

The word "littoral" is used both as a noun and an adjective. It derives from the Latin noun litus, litoris, meaning "shore". (The doubled 't' is a late medieval innovation and the word is sometimes seen in the more classical-looking spelling 'litoral'.)

In oceanography and marine biology[link]

The intertidal zone of a beach is part of the littoral zone

Estuaries are also in the littoral zone

In oceanography and marine biology, the idea of the littoral zone is extended roughly to the edge of the continental shelf. Starting from the shoreline, the littoral zone begins at the spray region just above the high tide mark. From here, it moves to the intertidal region between the high and low water marks, and then out as far as the edge of the continental shelf. These three subregions are called, in order, the supralittoral zone, the eulittoral zone and the sublittoral zone.

Supralittoral zone[link]

Look up littoral in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Look up circalittoral, eulittoral, infralittoral, sublittoral, or supralittoral in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

The supralittoral zone (also called the splash, spray, or supratidal zone) is the area above the spring high tide line that is regularly splashed, but not submerged by ocean water. Seawater penetrates these elevated areas only during storms with high tides.

Organisms here must cope also with exposure to bad air, fresh water from rain, cold, heat and predation by land animals and seabirds. At the top of this area, patches of dark lichens can appear as crusts on rocks. Some types of periwinkles, Neritidae and detritus feeding Isopoda commonly inhabit the lower supralittoral.^[1]

Eulittoral zone[link]

The eulittoral zone (also called the midlittoral or mediolittoral zone) is the intertidal zone, also known as the foreshore. It extends from the spring high tide line, which is rarely inundated, to the neap low tide line, which is rarely not inundated. The wave action and turbulence of recurring tides shapes and reforms cliffs, gaps, and caves, offering a huge range of habitats for sedentary organisms. Protected rocky shorelines usually show a narrow almost homogenous eulittoral strip, often marked by the presence of barnacles. Exposed sites show a wider extension and are often divided into further zones. For more on this, see intertidal ecology.

Sublittoral zone[link]

The sublittoral zone, also called the neritic zone, starts immediately below the eulittoral zone. This zone is permanently covered with seawater.

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 practice, this typically extends to the edge of the continental shelf, with depths around 200 meters.

In marine biology, the sublittoral 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. This results in high primary production and makes the sublittoral zone the location of the majority of sea life. As in physical oceanography, this zone typically extends to the edge of the continental shelf. The benthic zone in the sublittoral is much more stable than in the intertidal zone; temperature, water pressure, and the amount of sunlight remain fairly constant. Sublittoral corals do not have to deal with as much change as intertidal corals. Corals can live in both zones, but they are more common in the sublittoral zone.

Within the sublittoral, marine biologists also identify the following:

• The infralittoral zone is the algal dominated zone to maybe five metres below the low water mark.
• The circalittoral zone is the region beyond the infralittoral, that is, below the algal zone and dominated by sessile animals such as oysters.

Shallower region of the sublittoral zone, extending not far from the shore, are sometimes referred to as the subtidal zone.

In freshwater ecosystems[link]

Shoreline of a lake with nearly unvegetated littoral zone

In freshwater situations, littoral zones occur on the edge of large lakes and rivers, often with extensive areas of wetland. Hence, they are sometimes referred to as fringing wetlands. Here, the effects of tides are minimal, so other definitions of "littoral" are used. For example, the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources defines littoral as that portion of the lake that is less than 15 feet in depth.^[2]

The littoral zone may form a narrow or broad fringing wetland, with extensive areas of aquatic plants sorted by their tolerance to different water depths. Typically, four zones are recognized, from higher to lower on the shore: wooded wetland, wet meadow, marsh and aquatic vegetation.^[3] The relative areas of these four types depends not only the the profile of the shoreline, but upon past water levels. The area of wet meadow is particularly dependent upon past water levels;^[4] in general, the area of wet meadows along lakes and rivers increases with natural water level fluctuations.^[5][6] Many of the animals in lakes and rivers are dependent upon the wetlands of littoral zones, since the rooted plants provide habitat and food. Hence, a large and productive littoral zone is considered an important characteristic of a healthy lake or river.^[7]

Littoral zones are at particular risk for two reasons. First, human settlement is often attracted to shorelines, and settlement often disrupts breeding habitats for littoral zone species. For example, many turtles are killed on roads when they leave the water to lay their eggs in upland sites. Fish can be negatively affected by docks and retaining walls which remove breeding habitat in shallow water. Some shoreline communities even deliberately try to remove wetlands since they may interfere with activities like swimming. Overall, the presence of human settlement has a demonstrated negative impact upon adjoining wetlands.^[8] An equally serious problem is the tendency to stabilize lake or river levels with dams. Dams removed the spring flood which carries nutrients into littoral zones, and reduces the natural fluctuation of water levels upon which many wetland plants and animals depend.^[9][10] Hence, over time, dams can reduce the area of wetland from a broad littoral zone to a narrow band of vegetation. Marshes and wet meadows are at particular risk.

Other definitions[link]

For the purposes of naval operations, the United States Navy divides the littoral zone in the ways shown on the diagram at the top of this article. The United States Army Corps of Engineers and Environmental Protection Agency have their own definitions, and these have legal implications.

See also[link]

Notes[link]

References[link]

Physical oceanography – Waves and Currents Waves Airy wave theory Ballantine Scale Benjamin–Feir instability Boussinesq approximation Breaking wave Clapotis Cnoidal wave Cross sea Dispersion Infragravity waves Edge wave Equatorial waves Fetch Freak wave Gravity wave Internal wave Kelvin wave Luke's variational principle Mild-slope equation Radiation stress Rogue wave Rossby wave Rossby-gravity waves Sea state Seiche Significant wave height Sneaker wave Soliton Stokes boundary layer Stokes drift Surf wave Swells Tsunami Undertow Ursell number Wave base Wave–current interaction Wave height Wave power Wave setup Wave shoaling Wave radar Wave turbulence Waves and shallow water Shallow water equations Wind wave Wind wave model More... Circulation Atmospheric circulation Baroclinity Boundary current Coriolis effect Downwelling Eddy Ekman layer Ekman spiral Ekman transport El Niño-Southern Oscillation Geostrophic current Gulf Stream Halothermal circulation Humboldt Current Hydrothermal circulation Global circulation model Langmuir circulation Longshore drift Loop Current Maelstrom Ocean current Ocean dynamics Ocean gyre Rip current Thermohaline circulation Shutdown of thermohaline circulation Subsurface currents Sverdrup balance Whirlpool Upwelling GLODAP MOM POM WOCE More... Tides Amphidromic point Earth tide Head of tide Internal tide Lunitidal interval Perigean spring tide Rule of twelfths Slack water Spring/neap tide Tidal bore Tidal force Tidal power Tidal race Tidal range Tidal resonance Tide Tide gauge Tideline More...   Physical oceanography – Other Landforms Abyssal fan Abyssal plain Atoll Bathymetric chart Cold seep Continental margin Continental rise Continental shelf Contourite Hydrography Guyot Oceanic basin Oceanic plateau Oceanic trench Passive margin Seabed Seamount Submarine canyon Coastal geography More... Plate tectonics Black smoker Convergent boundary Divergent boundary Fracture zone Hydrothermal vent Marine geology Mid-ocean ridge Mohorovičić discontinuity Vine–Matthews–Morley hypothesis Oceanic crust Outer trench swell Ridge push Seafloor spreading Slab pull Slab suction Slab window Subduction Transform fault Volcanic arc More... Ocean zones Benthic Deep ocean water Deep sea Littoral Mesopelagic Oceanic zone Pelagic Photic Surf zone Sea level Current sea level rise Future sea level Sea-level curve DART GLOSS NOOS OSTM WGS Acoustics Ocean acoustic tomography Sofar bomb SOFAR channel Underwater acoustics Hydroacoustics Other Alvin Argo Benthic lander Color of water Marginal sea Mooring Ocean Ocean energy Ocean exploration Ocean observations Ocean pollution Ocean reanalysis Ocean surface topography Ocean thermal energy conversion Oceanography Pelagic sediments Sea surface microlayer Sea surface temperature Seawater Science On a Sphere Thermocline Underwater glider Water column World Ocean Atlas NODC More...

v t e Coastal geography Landforms Anchialine pool Avulsion Archipelago Atoll Ayre Barrier bar Barrier island Bay Baymouth bar Bight Brackish marsh Cape Channel Cliff Cliffed coast Cliff-top dune Coast Coastal plain Coastal waterfall Continental margin Continental shelf Coral reef Cove Dune Estuary Firth Fjard Fjord Flat coast Freshwater marsh Fundus Gat Geo Graded shoreline Gulf Headland Inlet Intertidal wetland Island Islet Isthmus Lagoon Marine terrace Mouth bar Raised shorelines Machair Mega delta Mudflat Natural arch Peninsula Reef Regressive delta Ria River delta Rocky shore Salt marsh Shore Sound Stack Steep coast Strait Strand plain Submarine canyon Tied island Tidal island Tidal marsh Tide pool Tombolo More... Beaches Beach cusps Beach evolution Beach ridge Beachrock Modern recession of beaches Pocket beach Raised beach Storm beach Shingle beach Processes Blowhole Coastal erosion Concordant coastline Current Cuspate foreland Discordant coastline Emergent coastline Feeder bluff Fetch Headlands and bays Large scale coastal behaviour Longshore drift Marine regression Marine transgression Rip current Sea cave Sea foam Shoal Spit Submergent coastline Surf break Surf zone Surge channel Swash Volcanic arc Wave-cut platform Wave shoaling Wind wave Wrack zone Management Coastal management Accretion Integrated coastal zone management Submersion Related Bulkhead line Coastline length Intertidal zone Littoral zone Particle size boulder shingle pebble sand silt clay Physical oceanography Region of freshwater influence Scree More...

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Marc Quinn (born 8 January 1964) is a British artist and one of a loose group known as the Young British Artists. He is known for Alison Lapper Pregnant (a sculpture of Alison Lapper which has been installed on the fourth plinth at Trafalgar Square), Self (a sculpture of his head made with his own frozen blood), and Garden (2000).

Quinn has used blood, ice and faeces to make sculptures; his work sometimes refers to scientific developments. Quinn’s oeuvre displays a preoccupation with the mutability of the body and the dualisms that define human life: spiritual and physical, surface and depth, cerebral and sexual.

Life and career[link]

Quinn was born in London in 1964. He studied history and the history of art at Robinson College, Cambridge. He worked as an assistant to the sculptor Barry Flanagan.^{[citation needed]} Quinn began to exhibit in the early 1990s. He was the first artist represented by Jay Jopling, and was exhibited in Charles Saatchi's Sensation.

Quinn has exhibited exhibitions including Sonsbeek ’93, Arnhem (1993), Give and Take, Victoria and Albert Museum, London (2001), Statements 7, 50th Venice Biennale (2003) and Gwangju Biennale (2004). Solo exhibitions include Tate Gallery, London (1995), Kunstverein Hannover (1999), Fondazione Prada, Milan (2000), Tate Liverpool (2002), Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2004), Groninger Museum, Groningen (2006) and MACRO, Rome (2006), DHC/ART Fondation pour l’art contemporain, Montréal (2007) and Fondation Beyeler, Basel (2009).

Art practice[link]

Quinn’s sculpture, paintings and drawings often deal with the distanced relationship we have with our bodies, highlighting how the conflict between the ‘natural’ and ‘cultural’ has a grip on the contemporary psyche. In 1999, Quinn began a series of marble sculptures of amputees as a way of re-reading the aspirations of Greek and Roman statuary and their depictions of an idealised whole.

Works[link]

"Self" (ongoing project)[link]

"Self" is a frozen sculpture of the artist's head made from 4.5 litres of his own blood, taken from his body over a period of 5 months. In interview in 2000, reflecting on the iconic artwork, he remarked, "Well, I think it’s a great sculpture. I’m really happy with it. I think it is inevitable that you have one piece people focus in on. But that's really good because it gets people into the work."

Described by Quinn as a ‘frozen moment on lifesupport’, the work is carefully maintained in a refrigeration unit, reminding the viewer of the fragility of existence. The artist makes a new version of Self every five years, each of which documents Quinn’s own physical transformation and deterioration. Self, like many other pieces by the YBAs, was bought by Charles Saatchi (in 1991 for a reputed £13,000). Despite reports that the piece had melted^[1], it was exhibited by Saatchi when he opened his new gallery in London in 2003. In April, 2005, Self was sold to a US collector for £1.5m.^[2] The National Portrait Gallery in London acquired Self 2006. (Purchased through The Art Fund, the Henry Moore Foundation, Terry and Jean de Gunzburg and Project B Contemporary Art, 2009)

Garden (2000)[link]

His next important piece in terms of his public profile was the frozen garden he made for Miuccia Prada in 2000, installed at Fondazione Prada in Milan, Italy. A whole garden full of plants which could never grow together kept in cryogenic suspension. In interview, Quinn explained how this worked, "When working with the frozen material, it’s like doing an experiment—different things come out of it. When you freeze something, it normally dries up. To avoid that, you have to stop the air from getting to the object. You can do this by casing it in [silicone]."

Portrait of John E. Sulston (2001)[link]

His portrait of John E. Sulston, who won the Nobel prize in 2002 for sequencing the human genome on the Human Genome Project,^[3] is in the National Portrait Gallery. It consists of bacteria containing Sulston's DNA in agar jelly. "The portrait was made by our standard methods for DNA cloning," writes Sulston. "My DNA was broken randomly into segments, and treated so that they could be replicated in bacteria. The bacteria containing the DNA segments were spread out on agar jelly in the plate you see in the portrait." ^[4]

Alison Lapper, The Fourth Plinth (2005-2007)[link]

Quinn has made a series of marble sculptures of people either born with limbs missing or who have had them amputated. This culminated in his 15 ton marble statue of Alison Lapper, a woman born with no arms and severely shortened legs, which was displayed on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square, London from September 2005 until October 2007.^[5] (The Fourth Plinth is used for rotating displays of sculpture.) In Disability Studies Quarterly, Ann Millett writes, "The work has been highly criticized for capitalizing on the shock value of disability, as well as lauded for its progressive social values. Alison Lapper Pregnant and the controversy surrounding it showcase disability issues at the forefront of current debates in contemporary art."^[6]

Siren (2008)[link]

Since 2006, Marc Quinn has made numerous studies of the supermodel Kate Moss. In April 2006, Sphinx, a sculpture of Kate Moss by Quinn was revealed.^[7] The sculpture shows Moss in a yoga position with her ankles and arms wrapped behind her ears. This body of work culminated in an exhibition at the Mary Boone Gallery in New York in May 2007. The sculpture is on permanent display in Folketeateret in Oslo.^{[citation needed]}

In August 2008, Quinn unveiled another sculpture of Kate Moss, this time in solid 18 carat gold, called Siren, which was exhibited in the British Museum, London. The life-size sculpture was promoted as "the largest gold statue since ancient Egypt" Siren was identified as using a similar strategy as Damien Hirst's diamond skull.

Recent work[link]

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Allanah, Buck, Catman, Chelsea, Michael, Pamela & Thomas[link]

In May 2010, Quinn revealed a series of new sculptures at Londons White Cube gallery including The Ecstatic Autogenesis of Pamela based on film actress Pamela Anderson and Chelsea Charms based on pornography model Chelsea Charms.^[8]

Quinn's new models include 'Catman' (Dennis Avner (who has been tattooed to look like a cat) and transsexual people such as Thomas Beatie, Buck Angel, and Allanah Starr. Quinn's portrait sculpture 'Buck & Allanah' depicts the two nude, standing hand in hand, in a pose reminiscent of Adam and Eve. The sculpture of Thomas Beatie depicts him at full-term pregnancy, bowing his head and cradling his abdomen with two hands.

The exhibition also included a new series of flower paintings executed in reversed colour and two large-scale orchid sculptures in white painted bronze, installed in Hoxton Square, opposite the gallery.

Personal life[link]

He is married to author Georgia Byng and has two children.^[9]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Marc Quinn

• Official Marc Quinn website