coastal landscapes in the UK Flashcards
types of weathering
mechanical weathering and chemical weathering
what is mechanical weathering
breakdown of the rock without altering the rock’s chemical composition.
what is freeze-thaw weathering
- water gets into rocks and cracks
- when the water freezes, it expands, which puts pressure on the rock
- when the water thaws, it contracts, which releases the pressure on the rock
- repeated freezing and thawing widens the crack, causing the rock to break up
what is chemical weathering
breakdown of rock by changing its chemical composition
what is carbonation weathering
- rainwater has carbon dioxide dissolved in it, which makes it a weak carbonic acid
- carbonic acid reacts with rock that contains calcium carbonate, so the rocks are dissolved by rain water
what is mass movement
shifting of rocks and loose material down a slope
what are the three types of mass movement?
slides, slumps and rockfall
what is slides as a mass movement
when material shifts in a straight line
what is slumps as a mass movement
when material shifts with a rotation
what is rockfall as a mass movement
when material breaks down and falls down slopew
what is erosion
the wearing away of rock along the coastline
four types of erosion
- hydraulic action
- attrition
- solution
- abrasion
define hydraulic action
hydraulic action is when the force of water crashes across the bottom of the cliff, wearing it down
define solution
solution is when weak acids in the water dissolve small rocks like chalk and limestone
define attrition
attrition is when eroded particles smash into each other, breaking into smaller, rounder, fragmentd
define abrasion
abrasion is when particles in the water scrape and rub against bigger rock, removing smaller pieces
two types of waves
destructive and costructive
describe a destructive wave
- DESTRUCTS the beach
- takes particles away from the beach
- weak swash
- strong backwash
- happens during storm conditions
describe a constructive wave
- CONSTRUCTS the beach
- drags particles on to the beach
- strong swash
- weak backwash