Backwash refers to:

Backwash refers to:

• A. Water moving toward the shore after breaking waves.
• B. A layer of water that remains after sea level falls.
• C. A tidal bore.
• D. Water returning to the sea from the beach after waves break.

Answer: (D)

The main idea is how water moves on and off the shore during the wave-breaking cycle. Backwash is the return flow of seawater down the beach toward the sea after a wave breaks. This gravity-driven drainage happens as the water that rushed up the shore during swash runs back down the slope, often moving sediment with it and helping shape the beach profile. The other options describe different processes: water moving toward shore after breaking waves is swash, a layer remaining after sea level falls isn’t driven by wave action, and a tidal bore is a surge moving up a river estuary, not the beach’s backwash. So backwash is the water returning to the sea from the beach after waves break.

The main idea is how water moves on and off the shore during the wave-breaking cycle. Backwash is the return flow of seawater down the beach toward the sea after a wave breaks. This gravity-driven drainage happens as the water that rushed up the shore during swash runs back down the slope, often moving sediment with it and helping shape the beach profile. The other options describe different processes: water moving toward shore after breaking waves is swash, a layer remaining after sea level falls isn’t driven by wave action, and a tidal bore is a surge moving up a river estuary, not the beach’s backwash. So backwash is the water returning to the sea from the beach after waves break.