A vocabulary of GEOMORPHIC UNIT terms (Part 2) used in the two-part marine and coastal geomorphology classification scheme (International Seabed Geomorphology Mapping Working Group - ISGM-WG: Part 1 Morphology: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.4071940; Part 2 Geomorphology: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7804019 to classify MORPHOLOGY FEATURES (Part 1) with their process interpretation. These UNIT terms are structured within a consistent framework design that is replicated between eleven SETTING and PROCESS categories.

This is one of four linked ISGM-WG vocabularies. Definitions in this vocabulary are subject to intermittent review and versioning. Unless otherwise stated, all definitions are derived from the Part 2 Geomorphology report (Version 1.0 https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.7804019).

• Anthropogenic Process
  • archaeological (BGU)
    • cultural site (BGU-T)
    • historical wreck (BGU-T)
    • other archaeological (BGU-T)
  • disturbance (BGU)
    • anchor drag (BGU-T)
    • bottom trawl (BGU-T)
    • dredge scour (BGU-T)
    • dredge spoil (BGU-T)
    • mine tailings (BGU-T)
    • other disturbance (BGU-T)
  • structure (BGU)
    • artificial reef (BGU-T)
    • cable (BGU-T)
    • coastal management structure (BGU-T)
    • fish farm (BGU-T)
    • fish trap (BGU-T)
    • foundations and moorings (BGU-T)
    • mine (BGU-T)
    • other structure (BGU-T)
    • pipeline (BGU-T)
    • rubbish discharge (BGU-T)
    • wreck (BGU-T)
• Biogenic Process
  • back reef (BGU)
  • biogenic reef (BGU)
    • atoll (BGU-T)
    • barrier reef (BGU-T)
    • cold-water-coral-reef (BGU-T)
    • coralligène (BGU-T)
    • fringing reef (BGU-T)
    • patch reef (BGU-T)
    • platform reef (BGU-T)
  • bioherm (BGU)
    • agglutinating (BGU-T)
    • annulate/annular (BGU-T)
    • lenticular (BGU-T)
    • reticulate (BGU-T)
  • biostrome (BGU)
    • ribbon (BGU-T)
    • sheet (BGU-T)
  • excavation (BGU)
  • fore-reef (BGU)
  • mat (BGU)
  • reef crest (BGU)
  • reef flat (BGU)
  • reef lagoon (BGU)
  • spur-and-groove (BGU)
• Coastal Setting
  • back barrier (BGU)
  • barrier (BGU)
    • barrier island (BGU-T)
    • barrier spit (BGU-T)
    • bay-mouth barrier (BGU-T)
    • salient / tombolo (BGU-T)
  • barrier complex (BGU)
    • chenier plain (BGU-T)
    • strandplain (BGU-T)
  • beach (BGU)
    • dissipative (BGU-T)
    • intermediate (BGU-T)
    • reef or rock affected beach (BGU-T)
    • reflective (BGU-T)
  • beach ridge (BGU)
  • beachface (BGU)
  • channel belt (BGU)
  • channel ledge (BGU)
  • chenier ridge (BGU)
  • coastal barform (BGU)
    • beach cusp (BGU-T)
    • berm (BGU-T)
    • intertidal bar (BGU-T)
    • nearshore bar (BGU-T)
    • ridge and runnel (BGU-T)
    • shoreface terrace (BGU-T)
    • tidal bar (BGU-T)
    • washover bar (BGU-T)
  • coastal delta (BGU)
    • bayhead (BGU-T)
    • coastal delta-front (BGU-T)
    • coastal pro-delta (BGU-T)
    • lower (BGU-T)
    • shelf edge (BGU-T)
    • tidal delta (BGU-T)
    • upper (BGU-T)
  • coastal subaerial valley (BGU)
    • coastal fjord (BGU-T)
    • coastal incised valley (BGU-T)
    • ria (BGU-T)
  • delta lobe (BGU)
  • floodplain (BGU)
    • high-energy confined floodplain (BGU-T)
    • low-energy cohesive floodplain (BGU-T)
    • medium-energy unconfined floodplain (BGU-T)
  • floodplain terrace (BGU)
    • strath (BGU-T)
  • lagoon (BGU)
    • closed lagoon (BGU-T)
    • intermittently closed and open lagoon (BGU-T)
    • open lagoon (BGU-T)
  • raised beach (BGU)
  • rocky coast (BGU)
    • arch (BGU-T)
    • cave (BGU-T)
    • cliff (BGU-T)
    • furrow (rocky coast) BGU-T)
    • notch (BGU-T)
    • outcrop (BGU-T)
    • plunging cliff (BGU-T)
    • pool (BGU-T)
    • pothole (BGU-T)
    • ramp (BGU-T)
    • rampart (BGU-T)
    • shore platform (BGU-T)
    • stack (BGU-T)
    • toe (rocky coast) (BGU-T)
  • shoreface (BGU)
  • subaerial channel (BGU)
    • creek (BGU-T)
    • distributary (BGU-T)
    • gully (BGU-T)
    • rill (BGU-T)
    • river (BGU-T)
    • tidal inlet (BGU-T)
  • tidal flat (BGU)
    • intertidal flat (BGU-T)
    • subtidal flat (BGU-T)
    • supratidal flat (BGU-T)
• Current-induced Process
  • barform (BGU)
    • bank-attached (BGU-T)
    • bench (BGU-T)
    • counterpoint bar (BGU-T)
    • crevasse splay (BGU-T)
    • ledge (BGU-T)
    • levee (BGU-T)
    • mid-channel bar (BGU-T)
    • mouthbar (BGU-T)
    • pointbar (BGU-T)
    • riffle (and pool) (BGU-T)
    • scroll bar (BGU-T)
  • bedform (BGU)
    • current-induced crag and tail (BGU-T)
    • current-induced furrow (BGU-T)
    • cyclic step (BGU-T)
    • dune (BGU-T)
    • lag (BGU-T)
    • lineation (BGU-T)
    • obstacle and comet scour (BGU-T)
    • plane bed (BGU-T)
    • ripple (BGU-T)
    • scour (BGU-T)
    • sediment ribbon (BGU-T)
    • sediment streak (BGU-T)
  • chute channel (BGU)
  • current-induced channel (BGU)
  • knickpoint (BGU)
  • oxbow (BGU)
  • plunge pool (BGU)
• Fluid Flow Process
  • blow-out crater (BGU)
  • caldera (mud volcano) (BGU)
  • gryphon (mud volcano) (BGU)
  • hydrothermal mound (BGU)
  • hydrothermal vent (BGU)
    • black smokers (BGU-T)
    • white smokers (BGU-T)
  • moat (mud volcano) (BGU)
  • mud volcano (BGU)
    • mud dome (BGU-T)
    • mud pie (BGU-T)
  • mudflow (mud volcano) (BGU)
  • outcropping methane-derived authigenic carbonate (MDAC) (BGU)
    • MDAC chimney (BGU-T)
    • MDAC mounds (BGU-T)
    • MDAC pavements (BGU-T)
    • MDAC slab (BGU-T)
  • permafrost pingo depression (BGU)
  • pingo (BGU)
    • gas hydrate pingo (BGU-T)
    • permafrost pingo (BGU-T)
  • pockmark (BGU)
    • 'complex' pockmark (BGU-T)
    • 'normal' pockmark (BGU-T)
    • giant pockmark (BGU-T)
    • strings of pockmarks (BGU-T)
    • unit pockmark (BGU-T)
  • ring fault (BGU)
• Fluvial Setting
  • channel belt (BGU)
  • delta lobe (BGU)
  • drainage basin (BGU)
  • drainage network (BGU)
  • floodplain (BGU)
    • high-energy confined floodplain (BGU-T)
    • low-energy cohesive floodplain (BGU-T)
    • medium-energy unconfined floodplain (BGU-T)
  • floodplain terrace (BGU)
    • strath (BGU-T)
  • fluvial delta (BGU)
    • fluvial delta-front (BGU-T)
    • fluvial pro-delta (BGU-T)
  • fluvial fan (BGU)
  • fluvial fan lobe (BGU)
  • fluvial subaerial valley (BGU)
    • fluvial incised valley (BGU-T)
    • river valley (BGU-T)
  • subaerial channel (BGU)
    • creek (BGU-T)
    • distributary (BGU-T)
    • gully (BGU-T)
    • rill (BGU-T)
    • river (BGU-T)
    • tidal inlet (BGU-T)
• Glacial Setting
  • U-shaped valley (BGU)
    • hanging valley (BGU-T)
  • corrugation ridges (BGU)
  • corrugation ridges within ploughmarks (BGU)
  • crevasse-filling (BGU)
  • cross-shelf trough (BGU)
    • valley/trough head (BGU-T)
  • cupola hill (BGU)
  • erratic (BGU)
  • esker (BGU)
  • glacial basin (BGU)
  • glacial fjord (BGU)
  • glacifluvial delta (BGU)
  • glacifulvial outwash plain (BGU)
  • glacigenic debris flow/lobe (BGU)
  • glacitectonic raft (BGU)
  • grounding zone wedge (BGU)
  • hill-hole pair (BGU)
    • glacitectonic hill (BGU-T)
    • glacitectonic hole (BGU-T)
  • hummocky terrain (BGU)
  • ice-contact delta (BGU)
  • ice-proximal fan (BGU)
  • iceberg grounding pit (BGU)
  • iceberg ploughmark (BGU)
    • multi-keeled ploughmark (BGU-T)
    • single-keeled ploughmark (BGU-T)
  • kettle hole (BGU)
  • medial moraine (BGU)
  • meltwater channel (BGU)
  • moraine (BGU)
    • De Geer moraine (BGU-T)
    • lateral moraine (BGU-T)
    • push moraine (BGU-T)
    • recessional moraine (BGU-T)
    • shear-margin moraine (BGU-T)
    • terminal moraine (BGU-T)
  • proglacial meltwater channel (BGU)
  • rogen (ribbed) moraine (BGU)
  • sill/threshold (BGU)
  • streamlined landform (BGU)
    • bundle structure (BGU-T)
    • drumlin (BGU-T)
    • flute (BGU-T)
    • glacial crag and tail (BGU-T)
    • groove (BGU-T)
    • mega-scale glacial lineation (BGU-T)
    • roche moutonnee (BGU-T)
  • sub-ice shelf keel scour mark (BGU)
  • thrust-block moraine (BGU)
  • trough-mouth fan (BGU)
  • tunnel valley (BGU)
• Karst Process
  • carbonate karst (BGU)
    • blind valley (BGU-T)
    • carbonate doline (BGU-T)
    • cone karst (BGU-T)
    • karst plain (BGU-T)
    • spring (BGU-T)
    • tower karst (BGU-T)
  • salt karst (BGU)
    • salt doline (BGU-T)
  • sandstone karst (BGU)
    • ruiniform (BGU-T)
    • sandstone doline (BGU-T)
• Marine Setting
  • canyon head (BGU)
  • canyon mouth (BGU)
  • marine barform (BGU)
    • contourite drift (BGU-T)
    • sediment apron (BGU-T)
    • sediment bank (BGU-T)
    • sediment drift (BGU-T)
    • sediment lobe (BGU-T)
  • marine reef (BGU)
  • submarine canyon (BGU)
    • shelf-incising canyon (BGU-T)
    • slope-confined canyon (BGU-T)
  • submarine channel (BGU)
  • submarine channel belt (BGU)
  • submarine fan (BGU)
  • submarine gully (BGU)
  • submarine terrace (BGU)
  • submarine tributary canyon (BGU)
  • submarine valley (BGU)
• Mass-Movement Process
  • complex (BGU)
  • crown crack (BGU)
  • debris apron (BGU)
  • debris fan (BGU)
  • depositional zone (BGU)
  • evacuation zone (BGU)
  • extensional ridge (BGU)
  • fall (BGU)
    • debris fall (BGU-T)
    • rock fall (BGU-T)
  • flow (BGU)
    • debris flow (BGU-T)
    • mudflow (BGU-T)
    • rock avalanche (BGU-T)
    • turbidity current (BGU-T)
  • head scarp (BGU)
  • lateral scarp (BGU)
  • lateral spread (BGU)
  • mass-movement compressional ridge (BGU)
  • mass-movement toe (BGU)
  • minor scarp (BGU)
  • mudflow fan (BGU)
  • mudflow gully (BGU)
  • remnant block (BGU)
  • slide (BGU)
    • frontally confined slide (BGU-T)
    • frontally emergent slide (BGU-T)
    • rotational slide (BGU-T)
    • translational slide (BGU-T)
  • talus apron (BGU)
  • talus fan (BGU)
  • topple (BGU)
    • debris topple (BGU-T)
    • rock topple (BGU-T)
  • translated block (BGU)
    • detached block (BGU-T)
    • outrunner block (BGU-T)
    • rafted block (BGU-T)
  • transverse crack (BGU)
  • turbidite fan (BGU)
  • turbidite levee (BGU)
  • turbidity channel (BGU)
• Solid Earth Setting
  • abyssal hill (BGU)
  • axial volcanic ridge (BGU)
  • bedding ridge (BGU)
    • cuesta (BGU-T)
    • hogback (BGU-T)
    • homoclinal ridge (BGU-T)
  • bedrock outcrop (undefined) (BGU)
    • bedded (BGU-T)
    • foliated (BGU-T)
    • massive (BGU-T)
  • dip slope (BGU)
  • impact crater (BGU)
  • magmatic outcrop (BGU)
    • circular volcanic depression (BGU-T)
    • magmatic dome (BGU-T)
    • magmatic sheet (BGU-T)
    • volcanic fissure (BGU-T)
    • volcanic flow (BGU-T)
    • volcanic plateau (BGU-T)
    • volcanic plug/neck (BGU-T)
  • oceanic core complex (BGU)
  • scarp slope (BGU)
  • tectonic depression (BGU)
    • fault valley (BGU-T)
    • graben (BGU-T)
    • half graben (BGU-T)
    • tectonic basin (BGU-T)
  • tectonic escarpment (BGU)
  • tectonic high (BGU)
    • back-tilted fault block (BGU-T)
    • horst (BGU-T)
    • solid earth compressional ridge (BGU-T)
    • tectonic dome (BGU-T)
  • tectonic lineament (BGU)
    • fault (BGU-T)
    • fracture zone (BGU-T)
    • joint (BGU-T)
  • volcano (island or submarine) (BGU)
    • guyot (BGU-T)
    • seamount (BGU-T)
    • shield volcano (BGU-T)
    • stratovolcano (BGU-T)