Coastal Landscapes in the UK Flashcards

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1
Q

What is erosion

A

The wearing away and removal of material by a moving force

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2
Q

What are the four types of erosion

A

Attrition
Abrasion
Solution
Hydraulic action

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3
Q

What is abrasion

A

Rocks carried along a riverwear down the riverbed and banks.

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4
Q

What is another definition of abrasion

A

The sandpaper affect of glacial ice scouring a valley’s floors and sides. This is pebbles grinding a rocky platform

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5
Q

What is attrition

A

Rocks carried by the river, then smash and break together, releasing small and tiny particles

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6
Q

What is solution

A

The dissolving of rocks such as limestone and chalk via seawater

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7
Q

What is hydraulic action

A

The process where breaking waves compress air in cliff cracks. Due to a high pressure the crack is widened, breaking the rock

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8
Q

What is deposition

A

When material is dropped by the sea, losing energy

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9
Q

What are examples of depositional landforms

A

Beaches
Spit
Bars
Sand dunes

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10
Q

What are two types of beaches

A

Sand beaches
Shingle beaches

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11
Q

What is the difference between both beaches

A

They are both shown as yellow beaches, however shingle beaches are also shown as white sometimes

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12
Q

What is a beach

A

A zone of deposited material that extends from the low water line to limit of storm waves

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13
Q

What is a spit

A

Depositional landform when a finger of sediment extends from shore out to sea, often at a river mouth

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14
Q

What is a bar

A

When a spit grows across a bar.

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15
Q

What is a salt marsh

A

An important natural habitat found in sheltered river estuaries behind spits with short flow of water

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16
Q

What is longshore drift

A

Transport of sediment along a stretch of coastline caused by waves, approaching the beach at an angle

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17
Q

What is a headland

A

Highpoint of land made of rock, that is erosion resistant. Headlands lie between bays of less resistant rock, where land is eroded by the sea

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18
Q

What is a bay

A

A wide coastal inlet, often with a beach, where areas of less resistant rock are eroded into the sea

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19
Q

What is a landform

A

Physical feature of Earth’s surface

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20
Q

What are the four types of coastal transportation

A

Solution
Traction
Suspension
Saltation

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21
Q

What is saltation

A

Hopping movement of pebbles down a riverbed

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22
Q

What is suspension

A

Small particles carried in river flow

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23
Q

What is traction

A

Heavy particles rolled along a seabed

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24
Q

What is a wave cut platform

A

Rocky level shelf around the sea, representing an old and retreated cliff

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25
Q

How is a wave cut platform formed

A
  1. Waves release most of their erosive energy
  2. The area of the cliff targeted to erosion is the point where the waves break
  3. A wave cut notch is formed, and is carved into the cliff where the waves break
  4. The overhanging cliff will become unstable and unsupported
  5. The overhanging rock will collapse
  6. This leaves a wave cut platform which will not erode due to abrasion
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26
Q

What is a cave

A

A large hole in a cliff caused by waves forcing their way into cracks in the cliff face

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27
Q

What is an arch

A

A wave eroded passage through a small headland.

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28
Q

What is a stack

A

An isolated rock pillar

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29
Q

How are cracks, caves, arches, stumps and stacks formed

A
  1. Abrasion and hydraulic action widen the joint, which forms a cave
  2. Erosion leads to back to back caves, breaking through a headland to create an arch
  3. The arch is enlarged by erosion and weathering processes which make the top of the arch collapse
  4. This leaves a stack
  5. The stack erodes and collapses, leaving a stump
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30
Q

What is weathering

A

Weakening or decay of rocks in their original place

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31
Q

What are the 3 main types of weathering

A

Physical
Chemical
Biological

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32
Q

What is chemical weathering

A

Weathering caused by climate change

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33
Q

What is biological weathering

A

Weathering caused by living things

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34
Q

What is physical weathering

A

Weathering caused by rock movements

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35
Q

What is freeze thaw weathering

A

Weathering in a glacial environment, involving repeated cycles of freezing and thawing, making rock cracks bigger

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36
Q

What is salt weathering

A

Weathering where salt crystals grow and expand in cracks and holes in the rock

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37
Q

What is mass movement

A

Movement of material downslope due to gravity.

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38
Q

What are the 4 types of mass movement

A

Rotational slip
Mudflow
Landslide
Rockfall

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39
Q

What is rotational slip

A

A slump of saturated soil and weak rock along a curved surface

40
Q

What are landslides

A

Rocks sliding downhill

41
Q

What is rockfall

A

Rock fragments breaking away from the cliff face

42
Q

What is mudflow

A

Saturated soil and weak rock flowing down a slope

43
Q

What are the two types of waves

A

Constructive
Destructive

44
Q

What is a constructive wave

A

A powerful wave with a strong swash that surges up a beach

45
Q

What is a destructive wave

A

A wave formed by a local storm, crashing down onto a beach with a strong backwash

46
Q

What is swash

A

Forward movement of a wave

47
Q

What is backwash

A

Water flowing towrads the sea after the swash has moved up shore

48
Q

What are the characteristics of a constructive wave

A

Strong swash
Weak backwash
Long wavelength
Relatively low height

49
Q

What are the characteristics of a destructive wave

A

Weak swash
Strong backwash
Short wavelength
Relatively high height

50
Q

What are the 3 factors affecting a wave’s power

A

Fetch
Wind time
Wind speed

51
Q

What is another word for fetch

A

Wind distance

52
Q

What is fetch

A

Length of water over where a wind has blown

53
Q

What is wind speed

A

How fast the wave is

54
Q

What is wind time

A

How long the wave takes to blow

55
Q

What are the 2 types of coastlines

A

Concordant
Discordant

56
Q

What is a concordant coastline

A

They are horizontal with layers. Rock layers run parallel to the sea

57
Q

What is a discordant coastline

A

Rock layers run perpendicular to the sea. They are vertical and vary as you go along

58
Q

What landforms are found on discordant coastlines

A

Headlands
Bays

59
Q

What are two types of coastal management

A

Soft engineering
Hard engineering

60
Q

What is hard engineering

A

A coastal management technique that goes against coastal processes (eg: erosion, abrasion). It is when expensive artificial structures are used for protection, that don’t work well for the environment.

61
Q

What are the four types of hard engineering

A

Gabions
Groynes
Sea walls
Rock armour

62
Q

What are groynes

A

Wooden or stone structures built in the fore shore. They look like fences and walls. They are spaced at regular intervals, approx 50m apart. They trap sediment via longshore drift. They are made of hardwood timber.

63
Q

What are gabions

A

Steel wire mesh cages filled with pebbles or rocks. They are placed at the back of sandy beaches to create a low wall like structure.

64
Q

What are sea walls

A

Barriers that separate waves and land. It is placed at the back of the beach.

65
Q

What is rock armour

A

(Rip rap). It is made up of thousands of tonnes of huge boulders or hard rock such as granite. They act as a barrier between sea and land.

66
Q

What are the advantages of sea walls

A
  1. Keeps home and property safe from erosion
  2. Reduces and prevents erosion and flooding on shoreline
  3. Prevents land erosion of shorefront property
  4. Offers increased safety for residents and visitors
  5. Prevents/minimises flooding due to storm surges and changes in lake levels
67
Q

What are disadvantages of sea walls

A
  1. Expensive repairs
  2. Ugly looks
  3. Disruption of animal habitat
  4. Waves reflecting at the bottom can erode foundations
68
Q

What are advantages of rock armour

A
  1. Good looks
  2. Cheaper than sea walls
  3. Easy maintenance
  4. Doesn’t impede access along beach or for fishing
  5. Absorbs and deflects wave impact, reducing the erosion effect around structures or on the coastline
69
Q

What are disadvantages of rock armour

A
  1. Requires maintenance as rocks can be worn down or shifted by waves
  2. Expensive and difficulties in transport and building boulders
  3. Disruption of natural habitat, can negatively affect them
  4. Poor aesthetics
70
Q

What are advantages of gabions

A
  1. Easy handling
  2. Easy transport
  3. Easy construction
  4. Flexible, can tolerate movement and settlement
  5. Permeable, allow water drainage
  6. Durable, resistant to corrosion and weathering
  7. Cost effective
  8. Low required maintenance
71
Q

What are disadvantages of gabions

A
  1. High instillation costs
  2. Difficulties for installing
  3. If not properly installed, they can fail quickly and contribute to erosion
  4. Requires large equipment
  5. Increases water flow and erosion when stabilizing riverbanks
  6. Low habitat value
  7. Unsightly
  8. Subject to heavy ware and tear due to abrasion
72
Q

What are advantages of groynes

A
  1. Easy beach construction
  2. Longshore drift keeps beach detritus from drifting down the coast
  3. Long term endurance
  4. Potential to absorb wave energy
  5. Enriched sediments
73
Q

What are disadvantages of groynes

A
  1. Expensive to create
  2. Weak maintenance
  3. Reflects energy instead of absorbing energy, making them less durable and ineffective during stormy conditions
  4. Affects nearby boat traffic and shore line by preventing longshore drift
  5. Unattractive looks
74
Q

What is soft engineering

A

A coastal management technique that works with coastal processes. It is less expensive, however can take a long time to be established and isn’t always suitable in every situation

75
Q

What are four examples of soft engineering

A

Sand dune regeneration
Beach recycling
Beach reprofiling
Beach recharging

76
Q

What is sand dune regeneration

A

Creates new sand dunes, or restores existing ones. They act as a physical barrier between sea and land, and absorb wave energy and water, protecting the land from the sea.

77
Q

What is beach recycling

A

Sediment taken from a bag and placed onto a beach, losing sand. This occurs every summer in Pevensey Bay. Longshore drift removes 20000 cubic metres of sediment per year.

78
Q

What is beach recharging

A

Removes sand from an area further down the coast, which has build up of sand from longshore drift

79
Q

What is beach reprofiling

A

Artificial reshaping of a beach using existing beach material

80
Q

What are the advantages of beach reprofiling

A
  1. Cheap and simple
  2. Reduces energy of the waves
  3. Protects private and public structures around the beach
  4. Creates a safer environment
  5. Widens the beach to create more usage opportunities
81
Q

What are disadvantages of beach reprofiling

A
  1. Only works with low wave energy
  2. Needs to be repeated a lot
  3. Beach must be closed during reprofiling, impacting local people, tourists and businesses.
  4. Difficult to find materials
  5. Restricted beach access
82
Q

What are advantages of sand dune regeneration

A
  1. Provides a barrier between land and sea
  2. Absorbs wave energy
  3. Provides cheap stabilization
  4. Maintains a natural looking coastline
  5. Increased biodiversity
83
Q

What are disadvantages of sand dune regeneration

A

No guarantee that sand dunes will stay in place

84
Q

What are advantages of beach recycling

A
  1. Clean beaches for people to use
  2. No rubbish laying around
  3. Decreased pollution
  4. Safe, tidy beaches
  5. Sediment is added
85
Q

What are disadvantages of beach recycling

A
  1. More sediment added can bury marine life
  2. Sand must be brought in elsewhere
  3. People can be restricted from using the beach for several weeks due to maintenance
  4. Large storms
  5. Marine ecosystem is negatively impacted due to offshore dredging of sand and shingle, resulting in increased erosion
86
Q

What are advantages of beach recharging

A
  1. Widens the beach, creates more usage opportunities
  2. Renourishment protects the public and private structures behind the beach
  3. Safer environment
  4. Project helps to protect the ecosystem of the shore
  5. Developed foundation for a larger, permanent beach for the future
87
Q

What are the disadvantages of beach recharging

A
  1. Difficult to find materials
  2. When new sediments are added, marine life can be buried
  3. Public has restricted access
  4. Locations require a repeated renourishment for effective work
88
Q

What is an example of an arch

A

Durdle Door

89
Q

What is Swanage

A

A seaside town in Dorset located on the south of England. It is located in a sheltered bay with a broad sandy beach. It is a classic stretch of coastline with impressive landforms of coastal erosion and deposition. It is a discordant coastline

90
Q

What landforms occur at Swanage

A

Headlands
Bays

91
Q

What is Lyme Regis

A

A small coastal town on the south of England. It lies at the heart of the World Heritage Site (Jurassic Coast)

92
Q

What is Lyme Regis famous for

A

Fossils

93
Q

What are the strategies used at Lyme Regis

A

Wide sand and shingle beach would absorb wave energy

Rock armour to protect the harbour wall
Its also placed in front of the sea to absorb wave energy and retain the beach

94
Q

What landform is Old Harry

A

A rock stack.

His wife is a smaller stack

95
Q

What is Holbeck Hall

A

A landslide located in Scarborough in North Yorkshire.

Between 3rd June and 5th June 1993, a disaster occurred, causing it to collapse