C -> 1.6 - 2.2 Flashcards
Sognefjorden, Norway facts
- submergent coastline as a result of eustatic sea level rise since LGM
- largest fjord system in Norway - extends 200km inland from west coast
- alignment corresponds to fracture system in bedrock (exploited by rivers, then glaciers)
- main Fjord basin is at a depth of 800m below present sea levels (although deepest point is 1308m below)
- entrace at seaward end is shallower (100-150m) due to rock bar (threshold)
Eustatic SL Change - post-glacial:
- sea level rise approx. 125m since the last glacial maximum (LGM) - 21000 years ago
- meltwater pulse around 14k years ago - most ice melted by 6k years ago and sea level is now only slowly rising.
Eustatic SL Change - tectonic:
- faulting and folding of crust can create displacement of seabed (eg Sumatra since 2004 EQ, or Dalmatian coast in Croatia)
submergent landforms examples
Fjords
Rias
Dalmatian Coast
Fjords:
- Fjords are drowned glacial valleys - Norway. Glacial erosion often deep cut into landscape, so fjord is deeper than adjacent sea, they have a shallow entrance where there is a submerged lip formed by the ridge of terminal moraine
Rias:
- drowned valley due to river erosion, a section of river valley flooded by the sea, making it much wider than it would be based on river flowing into it. Common in periglacial areas, river eroded steep sided v shaped valleys into frozen landscape giving ria a v shaped cross section when valley flooded. Kingsbridge estuary on south Devon coast is a 6mile long ria.
fjords and rias being formed? (part 1)
- pre glacial rivers exploits fractures and faults in Norwegian bedrock, creating v-shaped river valleys
- ice sheets move forward during the Quarternary (ice age), and because the ground is permanently frozen, rivers can only erode downwards to cut steeper v-shaped valleys
- glacial erosional processes (plucking and abrasion), create deep, wide, steep U-shaped valleys.
fjords and rias being formed? (part 2)
- glacial ice advances, pushing river valley eroded material forward, depositing it near the sea entrance to the modern day fjord
- ice advances further down the river valley but not the coast, leaving a lip
- ice begins to retreat and sea levels begin to rise
fjords and rias being formed? (part 3)
- rock lip is breached by seawater and U shaped valleys floods
- u shaped valleys become over deepened; the main valley floor lies 800m below current sea levels
- sea levels continue to rise ~ 125m higher than LGM extent; leaving a large fjord system
thermal expansion definition
water particles vibrate faster, so the volume of water expands
louisiana:
- mississipi river flows into the gulf mexico
- alluvial, depositional coast - marshes swamps and barrier islands
- huge levees & engineering projects protect - New Orleans to the north
- Vulnerable to: storm surges. global sea level rise, isostatic tectonic uplift
eustatic (global sea level rise) - fall:
- happens during glacial periods
- ice sheets are formed on high latitude land
- evaporated water is locked up as ice
- less water in the sea
eustatic (global sea level rise) - rise:
- interglacial periods - ice sheets on land melt
- melted water returns to the sea, so sea level rises
- global temperatures also cause thermal expansion - increasing volume of ocean water, ie. global sea level rise
isostatic (localised) fall:
ice sheets melt, and land surface slowly rebounds upwards - lifting the land surface out of the sea - sea levels appear to fall.
north goes with the motion of northern glaciers
isostatic (localised) rise:
- during glacials: land is compressed by the weight of glaciers, causing sea level to appear to rise
- during interglacials: ice melts leads to sediment being deposited in large river deltas, leading to increased weight/ crustal sag, and delta subsidence - sea level appears to rise
submergent coasts come from
relative rise in sea level, changing the shape/ form of the coastline
relative fall in sea level results in
emergent coastline, eg. offshore bars, raised beaches, fossil cliffs
the other key factors are
wave types, topography, rock structure/ deposition
explain why Englands south coast is shrinking
isostatic sea level rise, land titles, perception that sea level in the south coast is higher
post glacial rebound in USA:
post glacial adjustment is the way in which the northern part of the US/Canada is rebounding upwards (relative sea level fall), whilst the southern of the USA is tilting downwards (relative sea level rise)
historical land loss in the USA
- prob because of eustatic SLR and isostatic tilt downwards in the southern USA. However, it could also be the case the global SLR is caused by thermal expansion
future land loss in the USA
- the Mississippi Delta is subsiding (sinking down) - partly because of the weight of the sediment pushing down on itself, and also the weight of building on that relatively flat land
how do deltas form?
because of deposition of river (fluvial) material.
this accumulation of material is called accretion