Coastal Landscapes and Change - enquiry q1

Question 1

Littoral Zone

Answer 1

a coastal area/zone - can be divided into subzones

• offshore, nearshore, foreshore, backshore, coast

Question 2

Coastal plains

Answer 2

the land gradually slopes towards the sea across an area of deposited sediment - aka alluvial coasts

• e.g. sand dunes and mud flats

North Northumberland

Question 3

Primary coasts

Answer 3

are dominated by land based processes

• e.g. deposition at the coast from rivers or new coastal land from lava flows

Nile River Delta

Question 4

Secondary coasts

Answer 4

are dominated by marine erosion or deposition processes

Question 5

Emergent coasts

Answer 5

where the coats are rising relative to sea level

• e.g. due to tectonic uplift

Hudson Bay, Canada

Question 6

Submergent coasts

Answer 6

are being flooded by the sea, either due to rising sea levels and/ or subsiding land

Western Norway

Question 7

Estuarine coastline

Answer 7

• gradually transition from land to sea
• extensive mud flats
• at mouths of rivers, sometimes form slat marshes

The Thames mouth

Question 8

Sandy coastline

Answer 8

• lots of sand dunes
• high tide covers beaches
• vegetation prevents erosion

Whitby beach, Yorkshire

Question 9

Cliffed coastline

Answer 9

• low tide exposes rocky platforms
• vertical steep rocks or shallow angled rocks
• transitions from land to sea is abrupt

Whit cliffs of Dover, Kent

Question 10

Sub-aerial processes

Answer 10

land based processes that occur above the waterline. They include weathering and mass movement, which happen on the cliff rocks.

Question 11

Marine erosion

Answer 11

a type of erosion facilitated by wave and tidal action

• the repetitive nature of wave action produces a mechanism able to erode loose soils/sands and wear down rock cliff surfaces as well
• e.g. hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition

Question 12

Cliff profile

Answer 12

the height and angle of a cliff face and its features

• e.g. wave cut platform

Question 13

Erosion resistance

Answer 13

rocks forming cliffs vary in terms of their resistance to erosion and weathering

Question 14

Geology

Answer 14

the study and understanding of rocks

• their type and arrangement

Question 15

Geological structure

Answer 15

the arrangement of rocks in 3 dimension

~ strata - layers of rock within an area

~ deformation - the degree to which rock units have been deformed (tilted or folded) by tectonic activity

~ faulting - the presence of major fractures that have moved rocks from their original positions

Question 16

Strata

Answer 16

layers of rock within an area

Question 17

Deformation

Answer 17

the degree to which rock units have been deformed (titled or folded) by tectonic activity

Question 18

Faulting

Answer 18

the presence of major fractures that have moved rocks from their original positions

Question 19

Concordant

Answer 19

(Pacific coasts) concordant coasts are generated when rock strata run parallel to the coastline

Question 20

Discordant

Answer 20

(Atlantic coasts) form when different rock strata intersect the coast at an angle, so geology varies along the coastline

Question 21

Dip

Answer 21

the angle of the rock strata in relation to the horizontal caused by tectonic activity

• horizontal dip, seaward dip

Question 22

Lithology

Answer 22

the rock type and its main characteristics

• igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary0

Question 23

Joint

Answer 23

fractures in rocks created without displacement of rock

• displacement of the rock is not observable

Question 24

Fault

Answer 24

the fracture in the rock strata due to strain in which the displacement of the rock is observable

Question 25

Fissures

Answer 25

small cracks in rocks, often only a few cm or mm long

Question 26

Intrusion

Answer 26

when molten igneous rocks is injected and emplaced into existing rocks (the country rock) and on cooling becomes an igneous intrusion

Question 27

Bedding Plane

Answer 27

the planar surface which separates one layer of sedimentary rock form another

Question 28

Sill

Answer 28

an igneous intrusion which is in concordance with (in parallel with) the surrounding rock layers and is normally injected as a near horizontal sheet between the bedding planes of country rock

Question 29

Fold/ folding

Answer 29

a bending or flexure of the Earth’s crust due to compressional tectonic forces

Question 30

Unconsolidated sediment

Answer 30

material such as sand, gravel, clay and silt that has not been compacted and cemented to become sedimentary rock

Question 31

Sedimentary rocks

Answer 31

rocks formed from the accumulation of material derived from pre existing rocks and organic sources

less resistant to erosion than igneous rocks

erosion rate = moderate - fast

e.g. sandstone, limestone, shale

Question 32

Igneous rocks

Answer 32

rocks that have formed from the crystallisation and solidification of magma

more resistant to erosion

erosion rate = very slow

e.g. granite, basalt, dolerite

intrusive - formed inside volcano

extrusive - formed outside volcano

Question 33

Metamorphic rocks

Answer 33

form when rocks are subjected to high heat, high pressure, hot mineral rich fluids or commonly a combination of these factors

more resistant to erosion

erosion rate = slow

e.g. slate, schist, marble

Question 34

Pore water pressure

Answer 34

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

Question 35

Coastal accretion

Answer 35

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

forward movement of a coastline due to deposition

Question 36

Coastal recession

Answer 36

the movement of the coastline backwards due to erosion

Question 37

Psammasere

Answer 37

a sand dune ecosystem