3.1 - Coasts as natural systems Flashcards
Define ecosystem
Interrelationships between living and non-living components within an environment
Name 3 characteristics of a system
- Has a boundary
- Has inputs and outputs that causes system to change
- Involves a flow of material between components
Name the three types of systems
Open, closed, isolated
Describe an open system
Transfers energy and matter across a boundary
Describe a closed system
Transfers energy, not matter across a boundary
Describe an isolated system
No interaction between the system and it’s surroundings
Define positive feedback
Process in which the initial change will bring about an additional change in the same direction
Positive feedback example
Climate change
Define negative feedback
Process in which an initial change brings about an additional change in the opposite direction
Negative feedback example
Cattle grazing
How many major sediment cells are there in England and Wales?
11
Are sediment cells closed or open systems? Why?
Closed - boundaries tend to be headlands and peninsulas which acts as a natural barrier and doesn’t tend to have new inputs or outputs
3 examples of inputs
Tides, waves, glacial decomposition
3 examples of outputs
Coastal landforms, evaporation, sediment eroded by cliffs and transported/deposited elsewhere
3 examples of stores
3 examples of stores
