Coastal environments

Question 1

Define fetch.

Answer 1

Fetch is when the wind blows over the sea at a distance.

Question 2

What causes waves to form?

Answer 2

.Waves are caused by winds, moving from high pressure to low pressure.

Question 3

Name three things the waves are influenced by.

Answer 3

.The strength of the wind.
.How far the wind has travelled. (Larger fetch and wind means bigger wave)
.How long the wind has been blowing.

Question 4

What is a swash?

Answer 4

.Its the movement of water going up the beach.

Question 5

What is a backwash?

Answer 5

.The backward movement of water down the beach.

Question 6

Name two types of waves.

Answer 6

Destructive waves
Constructive waves

Question 7

Define destructive waves.

Answer 7

.When the backwash is stronger than a swash, as a result eroding the beach.

Question 8

Define constructive waves.

Answer 8

.When the swash is stronger than a backwash, causing the beach to build up.

Question 9

What type of beach a constructive wave forms?

Answer 9

.Sandy and depositional beach

Question 10

What type of beach a destructive wave forms?

Answer 10

.A shingle and erosional beach

Question 11

What’s the wavelength of a constructive wave?

Answer 11

. long with lower height.(less energy)

Question 12

What’s the wavelength of a destructive wave?

Answer 12

. Short with high height ( more energy)

Question 13

What’s the frequency of a constructive wave?

Answer 13

Low (6-8 per minute)

Question 14

What’s the frequency of a destructive wave?

Answer 14

High (10-12 per minute)

Question 15

Name four erosional processes

Answer 15

.Hydraulic action
.Attrition
.Corrosion/Solution
.Abrasion

Question 16

Name four transportation processes.

Answer 16

.Traction
.Saltation
.Suspension
.Solution

Question 17

What’s hydraulic action?

Answer 17

The sheer power of the waves as they smash into the cliffs. Trapped air is blasted into holes and cracks in the rock forcing it to break (cavitation).

Question 18

What’s corrosion?

Answer 18

.Its where rocks are dissolved by seawater-especially limestone and chalk.

Question 19

What’s attrition?

Answer 19

.When rocks carried by the sea crash into each other, which makes them smoother.

Question 20

What’s abrasion?

Answer 20

..When rocks rub against each other causing a ‘sandpapering effect’, causing them to become smooth

Question 21

What’s solution?

Answer 21

.It is the transport of dissolved chemicals and rocks.

Question 22

What’s suspension?

Answer 22

.It’s where lighter materials are often suspended or carried by the water.

Question 23

What’s saltation?

Answer 23

. It’s where particles that are too heavy to be carried by water or suspended are bounced along the seabed.

Question 24

What’s traction?

Answer 24

.It’s where larger rocks and pebbles are rolled along the seabed.

Question 25

Define mass movement.

Answer 25

.Its the downhill movement of cliff material under the influence of gravity.

Question 26

What are the types of mass movement?

Answer 26

.Landslides
.Mudflow
.Rockfall
.Slumping

Question 27

How does a rockfall occur?

Answer 27

A rockfall occurs when rock fragments break away from the cliff’s face, often due to freeze-thaw weathering.

Question 28

How does a landslide occur?

Answer 28

.When waves hit a cliff made of strong material, erosion happens the most at the cliff’s base. If continuous, this creates a small cut or gap called a wave-cut notch.

.As the notch gets bigger, the weight of the cliff above becomes too heavy/high, and a landslide may occur.

.The fallen material temporarily protects the cliff behind it but once the sea removes it, the process happens again and wave-cut platforms are formed.

Question 29

How does slumping occur?

Answer 29

.Cliffs made of boulder clay, which is a type of material left behind by glaciers, can erode quickly when they are near the coast. The Holderness coast in Europe is an example of a coastline with these types of cliffs and it erodes faster than any other coastline in Europe.

.One way of the cliff’s eroding is through the force of waves hitting the cliffs called hydraulic action.

.Another way is through abrasion, which involves the wearing away of the cliff’s surface.

.Rainfall also plays a role in erosion as lots rain causes the boulder clay to become very wet.When this happens the weight of the wet clay can cause the cliffs to slump or collapse.

Question 30

Define long-shore drift.

Answer 30

The transportation of sand/pebbles along a beach.

Question 31

Define deposition.

Answer 31

.Dropping off the materials

Question 32

Name erosional landforms.

Answer 32

.Bays
.Headlands
.Arches.
.Stacks
.Stumps
.Wave-cut platforms

Question 33

How are headlands and bays are formed?

Answer 33

.Headlands and bays are formed when soft rock of the cliff erodes quickly. This type of coast is called ‘discordant’ coast, where the rock is perpendicular to the coast.

Question 34

.Explain the importance of managing coastal areas.

Answer 34

.It’s important to manage coastal areas because to keep the people safe especially if the coastlines are steep. Another reason, is for tourist attraction and the construction of buildings.

Question 35

Define Hard-engineering.

Answer 35

.Involves the building of artificial structures such as sea walls aimed at controlling natural processes.

Question 36

Name types of sea defenses.

Answer 36

Groynes
Sea-wall
Rip-rap
Revetments
Offshore breakwater.

Question 37

What are Groynes?

Answer 37

Timber or rock structures that are built at right angles to the coast. They build up the beach by trapping sediment along the coast by longshore drift.

Question 38

Give a advantage of using Groynes.

Answer 38

.It works well with natural processes to build the beach and is not too expensive.

.It increases tourist opportunities and protects the land behind it.

Question 39

Give a disadvantage of using Groynes.

Answer 39

.The beach maybe starved of fresh sediment further along the beach and leading to erosion elsewhere. It is also unattractive to many tourists.

Question 40

What is a sea wall?

Answer 40

.Stone or a concrete walls at the foot of the cliff, or the top of a beach. They are usually curved to reflect waves back out to sea.

Question 41

Give an advantage of using sea walls.

Answer 41

.It is a very effective defense against erosion. They often have a promenade for people to walk along.

Question 42

Give a disadvantage of using sea wall.

Answer 42

.They are very unnatural looking and may need a high level of maintenance.

Question 43

Give an advantage of using a rip-rap.

Answer 43

.They are cheap and easy to construct and maintain. They can also be used for recreation such as fishing and sunbathing.

Question 44

Give a disadvantage of using a rip-rap.

Answer 44

.They can cause erosion further out to sea, and are usually unattractive. They are also expensive to build and maintain.

Question 45

What are revetments?

Answer 45

.They are sloped-wooden or concrete structures placed at the foot of a cliff, or at the top of a beach. They break up the waves energy.

Question 46

Give an advantage of using revetments

Answer 46

.They are relatively cheap to build.

Question 47

Give a disadvantage of using revetments.

Answer 47

.They are visually unappealing and a potential navigation hazard.

Question 48

What is an offshore breakwater?

Answer 48

.It’s a part,y submerged rock barrier, designed to break up the waves before they reach up the coast.

Question 49

Give an advantage of using an offshore breakwater

Answer 49

.It’s an effective barrier that does not obstruct the beach in any way.

Question 50

Give a disadvantage of using an offshore breakwater.

Answer 50

The rocks that are used are usually not local and can look out of place. They can also be dangerous if people click over them.