Classifying Coasts Flashcards
Define ‘strata’
Layers of rock
Define ‘bedding planes’
Horizontal cracks which are natural breaks in the strata caused by gaps in time during periods of rock formation
Define ‘joints’
Vertical cracks caused by contraction as sediments dry out or earth movements during uplift
Define ‘folds’
Formed by pressure during tectonic activity which makes rocks buckle and crumple
Define ‘faults’
Formed when the stress or pressure to which a rock is subjected exceeds its internal strength causing it to fracture, the faults then moves along fault planes
Define ‘dip’
This refers to the angle at which strata lie (horizontally, vertically, towards/ away from the sea)
Explain what a sediment cell is
Areas along the coastline where the movement of material is largely self-contained (closed coastal sub system) often determined by the topography and shape of the coastline tending to be between headlands and peninsulas which act as barriers of sediment movement
What is significant about the cliffs at the wash sediment cell?
Sandstone retreating at 1m/yr
Name four ways in which a coast can be classified
- Geology
- Energy
- Balance
- Changes in sea level
What five factors does the morphology of the coast depend on?
- Lithology
- Relief
- Rock type
- Permeability
- Resistance to erosion
Define ‘coastal morphology’
Shape and form of coastal landscapes and their features
Define ‘lithology’
The physical characteristics of rocks including strata, folds, bedding planes, faults, joints and dips
Sediment is sourced by (1) as part of a (2) cell which is then transported and deposited to form (3)
Weathering and erosion
Littoral
Coastal landforms
The Wash sediment cell:
Main source of sediment is (1) at West (2) to the (3) of the wash, the sandstone cliffs are retreating at (4) some sediment comes from (5) which pick up (6) from the (7) sea floor
Cliff erosion Runton East 1m/yr Tidal currents Glacial deposits Shallow
The wash sediment cell:
Erosion of the (1) cliffs to the north carried south in (2) to the (3) coast, (4) rivers discharge into the wash
Holderness
Suspension
Lincolnshire
Four
Name the four inputs
- Marine (waves, tides and storm surges)
- Atmospheric (weather, climate, climate change and solar energy)
- Land (rock type, structure and tectonic activity)
- People (human activity and coastal management)
Name the five processes
Weathering Mass movement Erosion Transport Deposition
Name the three outputs
Erosional landforms
Depositional landforms
Types of coasts
Define and describe the ‘littoral zone’
The area between the land and the sea, it is a zone rather than a line because tides and storms affect a band around the coast and constantly changing because of the dynamic interaction between processes operating in the sea and on land
Valentin coasts classification (1952)
A (1) type design with (2) coast on the right and (3) on the left, as well as ‘coast (4)’ on the top left and bottom right at the top is labelled (5) and the bottom (6)
Wheel Advancing Retracting Stationary Emergence Submergence
Valentin coasts classification (1952)
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