1.a. Coastal landscapes can be viewed as systems Flashcards
What is a landscape
The visible features (landforms) of an area of the Earth’s surface
What is a system
A group of objects and the relationships between them
What does kinetic mean
The capacity to do work as a result of motion
What does potential mean
The capacity to do work that a body possesses by virtue of its position and that is potentially transformable into another form of energy
What does thermal mean
The capacity to do work as a result of heat
What does geomorphic mean
Relating to the formation and shaping of landforms and landscapes by natural processes
What is a nearshore zone
This is the area of coastal environment between mean high tide and mean low tide
What is an open system
This is a type of system whose boundaries are open to both inputs and outputs of energy and matter
What is an input
This is an addition of material and/or energy to a system
What is an output
The transfer of material and/or energy out of a system
What is deposition
The laying down of sediment trasnported by rivers, waves, glaciers and wind, as energy levels decline
What is weathering
The breakdown of rocks exposed at, or near, the land surface by physical, checmical and biological processes
What is mass movement
The downslope transportation of material under gravity
What is erosion
The weathering away and/or removal of rock and other material by a moving force
What is evaporation
The process by which liquid water is converted into a gaseous state
What is longshore drift
The movement of sediment by waves and currents along a coastline
What is equilibrium
A long term balance between the inputs and outputs of a system
What is dynamic equilibrium
A system displaying unrepeated average states through time
What is negative feedback
An automatic response to change in a system that restores equilibrium
What is a sediment cell
A stretch of coastline and its associated nearshore area within which the movement of sediment, sand and shingle is largely self-contained
What is a closed system
A system with inputs and outputs of energy, but without any movement of material across system boundaries
Is the coast an open or closed system?
The coast is an open system, meaning that energy and mateter can cross the boundary of the system to the surrounding environment. The coast is shaped by a comination of kinectic, potential and thermal energy which allows for geomorphic processes to take place and shape coastal landscapes.
Where is the majority of material found in coastal landscapes
Beaches, estuaries and in the shallow nearshore zone
What are the components of open sustems
Inputs (wind, waves, thermal and sediment), Stores (beaches and nearshore sediment), Throughputs-transfers (longshore drift), Outputs (marine and wind erosion)
