Coastal geomorphological processes

Question 1

What drives the processes?

Answer 1

Driven by an input of energy, comes from waves or wind

Can be marine or sub-aerial

Question 2

What do these processes do?

Answer 2

Change characteristics of components of a coastal landscape - shape of beach or cliff, sand dunes

Question 3

What is a marine process?

Answer 3

Operate on a coastline

Question 4

What is a sub-aerial process?

Answer 4

Operate on land

Question 5

What are examples of sub-aerial processes?

Answer 5

Weathering
Run off
Mass movement

Question 6

What are examples of marine processes?

Answer 6

Waves
Tides
Longshore drift

Question 7

What are some processes of marine erosion?

Answer 7

Hydraulic action
Wave quarrying
Abrasion
Attrition
Solution

Question 8

What is hydraulic action?

Answer 8

It is the force of the water on rocks weakening the surface

Question 9

What is wave quarrying?

Answer 9

A breaking wave moving towards cliff face traps air as its hits cliff face in the cracks of the rock. When water pulls back en explosive effect happens as air is released from where it was trapped, can degrade rock

Question 10

What is abrasion?

Answer 10

Material carried by water wears aware cliff face

Question 11

What is attrition?

Answer 11

When material hits against each other it breaks it down

Question 12

What is solution?

Answer 12

Relates to the dissolving of calcium based rock

Question 13

What effects the rate of coastal erosion?

Answer 13

Wave steepness and breaking point
Fetch
Sea depth

Question 14

How does wave steepness and breaking point affect coastal erosion?

Answer 14

Waves that are steeper have a greater erosive power on the rocks
Waves the break as the foot of the cliff has greats amount of energy of the bottom of the cliff

Question 15

How does the fetch affect coastal erosion?

Answer 15

Longer a wave has travelled the more energy it will have generated - greater erosive power

Question 16

How does the sea depth affect costal erosion?

Answer 16

Where there is a steep sea bed, this creates higher and steeper waves
Shallow sea bed means waves can loose energy further away from the coastline because of the increased fricton

Question 17

How does costal configuration affect coastal erosion?

Answer 17

Where there are headlands, it is subjected to greater erosion, the headland will refract the wave energy weakening the waves for the beach further on

Question 18

How do the presence of beaches affect coastal erosion?

Answer 18

Beaches absorb wave energy, they provide protection against marine erosion, they are accumulations of sand and shingle. Beaches ensure that waves loose energy and have to deposit material. Sand creates flat beaches, shingle creates steep beaches

Question 19

How does human activity affect coastal erosion?

Answer 19

Humans can protect coastal environments through sea defences which reduces erosion but can increase erosion elsewhere
They can negatively affect environment through removing protective material like sand and shingle causing increased beach erosion

Question 20

How does the lithology affect coastal erosion?

Answer 20

Relates to characteristics of rock
Resistance to erosion, if rocks are aligned in certain positions makes them more susceptible to erosion or not
Permeability of rock
Clay - less resistant
Granit - more resistant
Jointed rocks - less resistant to erosion
Differential rate of erosion

Question 21

What is a concordant coastline?

Answer 21

Bands of different rock run parallel to the coastline

Question 22

What is a discordant coastline?

Answer 22

Bands of different rock run perpendicular to the coastline

Question 23

What commonly forms on a discordant coastline?

Answer 23

Headlands and bays

Question 24

What is an example of a discordant coastline?

Answer 24

Durlston Head

Question 25

What is an example of a concordant coastline?

Answer 25

Lulworth cove