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Coasts > 3.1.3.3 Coastal landscape development > Flashcards

3.1.3.3 Coastal landscape development Flashcards

1
Q

What are the stages of sand dune development

A
  • Embryo
  • Fore
  • Grey
  • Dune heath
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2
Q

What happens in the embryo dune stage

A
  • driftwood or litter traps sediment
  • accumulation occurs
  • pioneer plants create stability
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3
Q

What happens at fore dunes

A

An increase in humus causes an increase in vegetation

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4
Q

What happens at grey dunes

A
  • the sand is grey
  • there is an organic layer
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5
Q

Define dune slacks

A
  • deep dips
  • below the high water mark
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6
Q

What is a dune heath

A

Marks the end of the successional landform, generally a woodland area.

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7
Q

What are the steps of salt marshes (halospheres)

A

1) algae
2) less hostile conditions allows for pioneer plants to settle such as Spartina grass
3) an increase in vegetation
4) as the land rises above sea level, less flooding occurs and less salt tolerant vegetation occurs

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8
Q

Why is algae beneficial to the development of salt marshes

A
  • survives high salinity
  • survives high turbidity
  • survives being inundated and low oxygen levels
  • slows currents which allows for deposition
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9
Q

Why is Spartina well suited to the salt marsh environment

A
  • the two root system (one horizontal and one vertical)
  • one root binds to the mud
  • the other anchors it in place
  • Spartina traps more mud than any other British plant
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10
Q

What is a salt marsh

A

Tidal space where flocculated mud is caught in roots of halophytes (salt loving plants)
This builds up and dries out

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11
Q

Define a swash aligned beach

A
  • where waves move up the beach
  • parallel to incoming wave crests
  • minimal longshore drift
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12
Q

Define a drift aligned beach

A
  • parallel to the direction of dominant LSD
  • sediment can be transported long distances
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13
Q

Define a spit

A

Narrow piece of land with one end joined to the mainland and another projected out to sea

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14
Q

How is a spit formed

A

When longshore drift occurs an the coastline changes direction

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15
Q

Provide an example of a spit

A

Spurn Head, Holderness

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16
Q

What can spits lead to the formation of

A

Salt marshes

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17
Q

Define a bar

A

When a spit connects two headlands

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18
Q

Define a tombolo

A

A spit which joins an island

19
Q

Provide an example of a tombolo

A

Chesil beach, Dorset
- 30km long
- links to the isle of Portland

20
Q

4 conditions necessary for the development of sand dunes

A
  • high tidal range
  • abundant supply of sand
  • gentle beach profile
  • vegetation which can stabilise
21
Q

4 conditions necessary for the development of salt marshes

A
  • low energy, sheltered environment
  • high supply of fine material
  • mixing of fresh water and salt water for flocculation
  • roots of vegetation to hold the sediment
22
Q

Define flocculation

A

Where salt water meets fresh water and fine particles combine and aggregate

23
Q

Define a discordant coastline

A

Where lines of rock run perpendicular to the shoreline

24
Q

Why do headlands and bays form on discordant coastlines

A

Because the soft rock is eroded faster than the hard rock

25
Q

Explain wave refraction

A
  • bending of waves to mirror the shape of the coast
  • as waves reach headlands, the water shallows and friction cause the wave to slow
  • the waves in deeper waters continue unimpeded
  • this bends the wave
26
Q

Factors effecting erosion of cliffs

A
  • lithology of rock
  • the angle of dip
27
Q

Define a wave cut notch

A

Where erosion caused a cliff to be undercut

28
Q

Define a wave cut platform

A
  • a wave cut notch puts stress on the cliff which collapses
  • increased retreat causes wave cut platform
29
Q

Define eustatic change

A

Change in the volume of water

30
Q

Define isostatic change

A

Change caused by vertical movement of the land

31
Q

What are the main causes of eustatic change

A
  • tectonic change (sea floor spreading increases the volume of the basin)
  • changes in temperature
32
Q

What are the main causes of isostatic change

A
  • tectonic uplift or depressions
  • accumulation and melting of ice sheets compresses or decompresses the land
33
Q

Which areas of the UK are at risk from sea level rise

A

Hull, London and Middlesbrough

34
Q

What are rias

A
  • submerged river valleys
  • wide and deep at the mouth
35
Q

What are fjords

A
  • submerged glacial valleys
  • shallow at the mouth and deep inland
  • Sognefjorden, Norway is over 1000m deep in places
36
Q

What are dalmatian coastlines

A
  • where flooded valleys are parallel to the coastline
  • leaving islands
37
Q

How can sea level rise affect freshwater

A

Saltwater intrusion in aquifers

38
Q

How has the rate of sea level rise changed

A

Moved from 1-2mm per year to 4-5mm per year

39
Q

Kiribati context

A
  • 100,000 population
  • 50,000 on the main atoll Tarawa
  • low lying mangrove atolls
  • 1m above sea levels in places
40
Q

How is Kiribati in danger

A
  • many of the atolls could disappear within 50 years
41
Q

Social defences to rising sea levels

A
  • residents are proud of the country so they build many of the defences
  • ‘migration with dignity’ campaign allowing for residents to apply for jobs in neighbouring countries if the islands are submerged
42
Q

Environmental defences in Kiribati

A
  • over 50,000 mangroves planted to protect against storm surges
43
Q

What has president Tong done in response to salinisation of water and farmland

A

Bought 20km squared of land in Fiji

44
Q

How does Kiribati maintain economic stability

A
  • people make palm sugar to sell

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