3.1.3.1 Coasts as Natural Systems Flashcards
What is a coastline?
A dynamic boundary between land and sea
What factors affect the coastline?
Marine
Atmosphere
Humans
Sedimentation
Geology
Biotic
Climate
What type of system is a coast?
Open
What are the two types of waves?
Destructive
Constructive
Constructive waves:
-strong swash
-weak backswash
-builds the beach
-long wave length
-low height and frequency
Destructive wave:
Strong backwash
Weak swash
Short wave length
Destroys the beach
High
Long shore drift
Most waves hit coast at an angle
Moves sediment parallel to shore
RIP currents
Strong currents move away from the shore line
Develops when seaweed piles up along the coastline
Hazard to swimmers
What is a tide?
The rise or fall of level of sea
What is a spring tide?
After a new or full moon
The biggest difference between high and low water
What is a neap tide?
After 1/4 or 3/4, there is a least difference between low and high tide
Characteristics of a high energy coast:
Wave energy is high
Erosion is greater than deposition
Headlands, cliffs and wave cut platforms
E.g. cornwall
Characteristics of Low energy coast
Low wave energy
Deposition is greater than erosion
Beaches and spits
E.g. Baltic Sea
Types of marine processes:
Marine erosion
Marine transportation
Sub aerial weathering
Mass movement
Types of marine erosion
Hydraulic action
Wave quarrying
Abrasion
Attrition
Solution
Types of marine transportation
Traction
Saltation
Suspension
Solution
Long short drift
Types of sub aerial weathering
Weathering : mechanical, biological, chemical
Types of mass movement:
Landslides
Rock falls
Mud flows
Slumping
Runoff
Types of major landforms:
Stacks
Stumps
Bar
Mudflats - >saltmarsh
Arch
Wave cut notch
Spits (simple and compound)
Types of minor landforms:
Runnel
Ridges
Berms
Shingle ridge
Beach cusps
Factors to make a saltmarsh:
Sheltered shore
River estuary
Saltwater
Free sediment
2 flows of water
Types of sea level change:
Eustatic change
Isostatic change
