Coastal landscapes and change

Question 1

Littoral zone

Answer 1

The wider coastal zone including adjacent land areas and shallow parts of the sea just offshore

Question 2

Cliff profile

Answer 2

The height and angle of a cliff face as well as its features, such as wave-cut notches or changes in slope angles

Question 3

Coastal accretion

Answer 3

The deposition of sediment at the coast and the seaward growth of the coastline, creating new land. It often involves sediment deposition being stabilised by vegetation.

Question 4

Dynamic equilibrium

Answer 4

The balanced state of a system when inputs and outputs balance over time. If one element of the system changes because of an outside influence, the internal equilibrium of the system is upset and other components of the system change. By a process of feedback, the system adjusts to the change and the equilibrium is regained.

Question 5

Faults

Answer 5

Major fractures in rocks produced by tectonic forces and involving the displacement of rocks on either side of the fault line.

Question 6

Unconsolidated sediment

Answer 6

Material such as sand, gravel, clay and silt that has not been compacted and cemented to become sedimentary rock (it has not undergone the process of lithification) and so is loose and easily eroded.

Question 7

Pore water pressure

Answer 7

The pressure water experiences at a particular point below the water table due to the weight of water above it.