embayment

[ em-bey-muhnt ]

noun

1. a coastal recess that forms a bay.
2. Physical Geography. the process by which a bay is formed.

embayment

/ ɪmˈbeɪmənt /

noun

1. a shape resembling a bay

Word History and Origins

Origin of embayment¹

First recorded in 1805–15; embay + -ment

Example Sentences

"It is possible that the changes we see today on Thwaites and Pine Island glaciers -- and potentially across the entire Amundsen Sea embayment -- were essentially set in motion in the 1940s."

From Science Daily

The researchers decided to use the unexpected stop to map the krill and DMS concentrations in a shallow embayment on the island's north side.

From Scientific American

The only thing preventing it from flowing directly into the Amundsen Sea embayment is a shelf of floating ice that sticks out from the glacier’s edge.

From Washington Post

In the East Siberian Sea, they steered the Pangaea into an embayment in the ice cap that Ousland, who closely studies satellite images of the Arctic, had observed growing for years.

From National Geographic

Research in the past decade has shown that the Amundsen Sea embayment of West Antarctica might have passed a tipping point3: the ‘grounding line’ where ice, ocean and bedrock meet is retreating irreversibly.

From Nature