Coast KQ 1&2 Flashcards
What is a spilling wave ?
Steep waves breaking onto gently sloping beaches
What is a plunging wave ?
Moderately steep waves breaking onto steep beaches
what is a surging wave ?
Low angle waves breaking onto steep beaches
What is a swell wave ?
Long wavelength , wave period up to 20 seconds .formed in ocean oceans
What is a storm wave ?
Locally generated
Shorter wavelength , greater height , shorter wave period
What is the equation for the amount of energy in a wave ?
P= h^2 t
What is a system ?
A set of interrelated objects comprising of components and processes that are connected together to form a working unit
What energy types are available to a coastal landscape system ?
Kinetic , potential and thermal
What is an open system ?
Energy and matter can be transferred from neighbouring systems as an input but also as an output
What are some examples of inputs of a coastal landscape ?
Kinetic energy from wind and waves
Thermal energy from heat of sun
Potential energy from the position of material on sloped
Material from marine deposition
What are some examples of outputs of a coastal landscape ?
Marine and wind erosion
Evaporation
What are some examples of processes in a coastal landscape system ?
Longshore drift
When could equilibrium occur in a coastal landscape ?
When the rate at which sediment is bing added to the beach equal the rate at which sediment is being removed from the beach
What is dynamic equilibrium ?
When equilibrium is disturbed , the system undergoes self regulation and changes its form in order to restore equilibrium
What is a sediment cell ?
Reaches of shoreline which encompass th enter tidal and nearshore movement of sediment
Why are sediment cells closed systems ?
No sediment is transferred from one cell to another
How many large sediment cells are there around the coast of England and wales ?
11
How are the boundries of sediment cells determined ?
By the topography and shape of the coastline
Why is it unlikely that sediment cells are completely closed ?
Because of variations in wind direction and the presence of tidal currents
What is a special impact ?
From place to place
What is a temporal impact ?
Over time
What is the source of energy for coastal erosion and sediment transport ?
Wave action
How is wave energy generated ?
By the frictional drag of winds moving across the oceans surface
What are onshore winds ?
Blow from the sea towards the land , very effective at driving waves towards the coast
How does wind affect landforms ?
Helps to create constructive and destructive
Can make small landforms such as sand dunes and blowouts
How do waves link to energy ?
A wave posses potential energy as a result of its position above the wave trough, and kinetic energy caused by the motion of the water within the wave
What is the formula for the amount of energy in a wave in deep water ?
Power = height ^2 X time interval between wave crests
What is the wave period ?
Time interval between wave crests in seconds
What is wave frequency ?
The number of waves per minute
How do waves affect landforms ?
They deposit sediment for spits and beaches
Form wave cut notches
Discordant coastline could form due to increased erosion rates
What is negative feedback ?
When the process seeks to counter the change and maintain equilibrium
What is steady state equilibrium ?
Where variations in energy and the morphological response do nt deviate too far from the long term average
What is meta state equilibrium ?
Where an environment switches between two or more states f equilibrium
What is positive feedback ?
Where a flow/transfer leads to increase or growth
What are the features of constructive waves ?
Low height
Longer wavelength
Low frequency
6-8 per min
Strong swash
Weak backwash
Surging wave break
Deposition
What are th features of destructive waves ?
High height
Shorter wavelength
High frequency
12-14 per min
Weak swash
Strong backwash
Plunging wave break
EROSION
What is a sediment budget ?
The balance of the sediment volume entering and exiting a particular section of the coast
What is a swell wave ?
Long wavelength
Wave period of up to 20 seconds
Formed in open oceans
What is a storm wave ?
Locally generated
Shorter wavelength
Greater height
Shorter wave length
What is a tide ?
The periodic rise and fall of the sea surface and are produced by the gravitational pull of the moon and to a lesser extent the sun.
How do high tides form ?
The moon pulls water towards it ,creating a high tide , and there is a compensatory bulge on the opposite side of the earth
Where will there be a low tide ?
At locations between the two bulges
When will the highest tides occur ?
When the moon , sun and earth are all aligned and so the gravitational pull is at its strongest (this happens twice each lunar month and results in spring tides with a high tidal range )
How are neap tides produced ?
Twice a month , the moon and sun are a tight angles to each other and the gravitational pull is therefore at its weakness
This produces neap tides and low tidal range
What does tidal range influence ?
Where wave action occurs
Weathering process that happen on land exposed between tides
Potential scouring effect of waves along coasts with a high tidal range
How is the formation of sand dunes connected to tides ?
The larger the tidal range the more time the sand has to dry so when it is dry it can be blown up the beach to from sand dunes
How do tides affect landforms ?
Low tidal range = narrower beach which is prone to more erosion
What do tidal currents do ?
Move sediment to and from a beach and are much more consistent than rip currents
what is a neap tide ?
Lower than normal tides
Occur when the sun and moon are at right angles to the earth so the gravitational pull from both has a reduced impact
When do neap tides occur ?
Follows 7 days after a spring tide
What is a spring tide ?
Occurs when there’s a new or full moon
Happens twice per month
The tides on average are slightly larger than usual
How are rip currents caused ?
Either by tidal motion or by waves breaking at right angles to the shore
What is a rip current ?
Strong and relatively narrow currents of water that flow seaward against breaking waves
they are temporary
Some last for hours , some last for months
How are ocean currents generated ?
By the earths rotation and by convection
They are set in motion by the movement of winds across the waters surface
What do warm ocean currents do ?
Transfer heat energy from low latitudes towards the poles
What do cold ocean currents do ?
Move cold water from the polar regions towards the equator
They are driven. By offshore winds so have less effect on coastal landscapes
What coastal landforms do rip currents make ?
Remove sediment from the beach
Create sand bars , cusps and inshore gutters
How do warm ocean currents affect the landscape ?
They increase the rate of sub Ariel processes
Warmer the air , the faster the chemical and biological weathering
What does lithology mean ?
The physical and chemical composition of rocks
What does the structure of the rock mean ?
Properties of individual rock types such as jointing , bedding and faulting
What coastal processes are affected by geology ?
Lots of bedding planes and joints encourages weathering , erosion and mass movement
lithology affect erosion and weathering rates
How does geology affect coastal landforms ?
Affects cliff shape and gradient due to angle of strata
Resistant rock - arches , stacks , stumps
Less resistant rock - beaches , gentle slopes and cliffs
What are some stores in a coastal system ?
Dunes
Beaches
Sandbank
What are some inputs of the coastal system?
Cliff erosion
River sediment
Longshore drift
Wave deposition
What are the outputs of the coastal system ?
Aeolian erosion to inland
Longshore drift
Wave erosion
What is freeze thaw weathering ?
Water enters cracks/joints in rock, and freezes causing a 10% expansion.
This exerts pressure on the rock
Repeated freezing and thawing(to allow more water to enter ), eventually causes rocks to break
What is pressure release ? (also called dilation)
When overlying rocks are removed (due to weathering and erosion), the pressure is released , allowing rocks to expand and fracture parallel to the surface
What is thermal expansion ? (insulation weathering, or onion skin weathering )
Outer layers of rocks expand and contract when heated and cooled.repeated cycles of heating and cooling can cause the outer layers to crack and flake off
What is salt crystallisation ?
Saline water enters pore spaces or cracks in rocks
Water evaporates causing the salt to precipitate out forming crystals.
The growth of the crystals over time creates stresses within the rocks, leading to break up
Particularly effective with sodium sulphate and sodium carbonate around 26-28 degrees .
What are the 4 types of physical weathering ?
Freeze thaw
Pressure release
Thermal expansion
Salt crystallisation
What are the 5 types of chemical weathering ?
Oxidation
Carbonation
Solution
Hydrolysis
Hydration
What is oxidation ?
Some minerals in rocks (iron), react with oxygen , either in air or water
Causes rocks to crumble easily
What is carbonation ?
Weak carbonic acid is formed when rain reacts with CO2 in atmosphere
Th acid reacts with calcium carbonate in limestone and chalk creating calcium bicarbonate , which is soluble in water and therefore easily removed
What is solution (chemical weathering )?
Some minerals (gypsum), are soluble in water , so are relatively easily dissolved and removed by seawater
What is hydrolysis ?
Thi is the reaction between water and a group of rock minerals called silicates (e.g. feldspar found in granite reacts with water to form kaolin
What is hydration ?
Certain minerals react wth water creating new minerals of a larger volume
Other minerals , e.g. clay , expand when wet and contract when dry
Causing many rocks , e.g. shale to flake at their surface
What are the two types of biological weathering ?
Tree roots
Organic acids
What is tree root biological weathering ?
Tree roots grow into cracks in the rocks and exert outward pressure
Works in a similar way to freeze thaw
When trees fall , the roots can also exert leverage on the rock bringing them to the surface
This exposes them to further weathering
So rocks break apart
What is organic acids biological weathering ?
They are produced during decomposition of plant and animal litter
They case soil water to become more acidic and react with some minerals in a process called chelation
What does blue-green algae do to rocks ?(weathering )
Produces a shiny film of iron and manganese oxides on rocks
What do molluscs do on shore platforms ? (weathering )
May secrete acids which produce small surface hollows in the rock
What type of cliffs does rockfall occur on ?
cliffs of 40 degrees or more
If the cliff face is bare
What happens in rockfall ?
Rocks become detached from slope by physical weathering
Then fall off the foot of the cliff under gravity
What happens after rockfall occurs ?
Wave processes usually remove the material
Or
May accumulate as a relatively straight , lower angled scree slope
What is hydraulic action ?
When waves break against the cliff face
Air and water gets trapped in cracks and become compressed
As wave recedes the pressure is released , air and water suddenly expand and the crack is widened
What is the average pressure exerted by breaking Atlantic waves ?
11,000kg per m cubed
What is pounding ?
When mass of a breaking wave exerts a pressure on the rock causing it to weaken
How does hydraulic action affect the coastline ?
Happens in hard rock on a headland
Can form wave cut notches
How does abrasion affect the coastline ?
Form caves , arches , stacks and stumps
Hard rock on headland
Destructive waves
Requires high energy waves
How does attrition affect the coastline ?
Creates more sand and adds to the sediment budget
What is suspension ?
Small particles of sand , silt and clay can be carried by currents
This is why some sea water is muddy or brown
Larger particles can be carries in this way during storms