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Geography > Coastal Landscapes in the UK > Flashcards

Coastal Landscapes in the UK Flashcards

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1
Q

Where are the UK’s main upland areas located?

A

North and West of the country

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2
Q

What type of rock are upland areas made from [1] and why [1]?

A
  1. Igneous and metamorphic rock
  2. Resistant to erosion
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3
Q

Where are the UK’s main lowland areas located?

A

South and East of the country

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4
Q

What type of rock are lowland areas made from [1] and why [1]?

A
  1. Sedimentary rock
  2. Erode more easily
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5
Q

UK cities are often located on what features? [2]

A
  1. Lowland areas
  2. On the UK’s main rivers
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6
Q

Describe the process of hydraulic action [3]

A
  1. Waves crash against rock and compress the air in cracks
  2. This puts pressure on the rock
  3. Repeated compression widens the cracks and causes bits of rock to break off
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7
Q

Describe the process of abrasion

A

Eroded particles in the water scrape and rub against rock, removing small pieces

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8
Q

Describe the process of attrition

A

Eroded particles in the water collide, break into smaller pieces and become more rounded

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9
Q

Describe traction

A

Large particles like boulders are pushed along the sea bed by the force of the water

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10
Q

Describe saltation

A

Pebble-sized particles are bounced along the sea bed by the force of the water

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11
Q

Describe suspension

A

Small particles like silt and clay are carried along in the water

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11
Q

Describe solution

A

Soluble materials dissolve in water and are carried along

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12
Q

Describe how longshore drift transports sediment along a coast [5]

A
  1. Waves follow the direction of the prevailing wind
  2. They hit the coast at an oblique angle (not 90°)
  3. The swash carries material up the beach, in the same direction as the waves
  4. The backwash then carries material down the beach at right angles, back towards the sea
  5. Over time, material zigzags along the coast
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13
Q

When does deposition occur?

A

When water carrying sediment loses energy and slows down

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14
Q

THINK: deposition

When do coasts build up?

A

When the amount of deposition is greater than the amount of erosion

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15
Q

When does the amount of material being deposited increase? [2]

A
  1. Lots of erosion elsewhere on the coast (more material available)
  2. Lots of material is transported into the area
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16
Q

What are the two types of weathering?

A
  1. Mechanical weathering
  2. Chemical weathering
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17
Q

What is mechanical weathering?

A

The breakdown of rock without changing its chemical composition

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18
Q

What is an example of mechanical weathering?

A

Freeze-thaw weathering

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19
Q

Describe how freeze-thaw weathering occurs [5]

A
  1. Happens when the temperature alternates above and below 0°
  2. Water enters cracks in rock
  3. When the water freezes it expands, which puts pressure on the rock
  4. When the water thaws it contracts, which releases the pressure on the rock
  5. Repeated freezing and thawing widens the cracks and causs the rock to break up
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20
Q

What is chemical weathering?

A

The breakdown of rock by changing its chemical composition

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21
Q

What is an example of chemical weathering?

A

Carbonation weathering

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22
Q

Describe how carbonation weathering occurs [4]

A
  1. Rainwater has carbon dioxide dissolved in it
  2. This makes a weak carbonic acid
  3. Carbonic acid reacts with rock that contains calcium carbonate
  4. So these rocks are dissolved by the rainwater
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23
Q

What is mass movement?

A

The shifting of rocks and loose material down a slope

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24
Q

THINK: gravity

When does mass movement occur?

A

When the force of gravity acting on a slope is greater than the force supporting it

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25
Q

What does mass movement cause coasts to do?

A

Retreat rapidly

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26
Q

When is mass movement more likely to occur?

A

When the material is full of water - water acts as a lubricant and makes the material heavier

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27
Q

What can be created as a result of mass movement?

A

A scarp (a steep ‘cut’ in the side of the slope)

28
Q

THINK: mass movement

What is sliding?

A

Material shifts in a straight line along a slide plane

29
Q

THINK: mass movement

What is slumping?

A

Material rotates along a curved slip plane

30
Q

THINK: mass movement

What are rockfalls?

A

Material breaks up, often along bedding planes, and falls down a slope

31
Q

What are the characteristics of destructive waves? [3]

A
  1. High frequency
  2. Low and long
  3. Backwash is more powerful than swash - material is removed
32
Q

Do destructive waves erode or deposit material?

A

Erode

33
Q

What are the characteristics of constructive waves? [3]

A
  1. Low frequency
  2. Low and long
  3. Swash is more powerful than backwash - deposit material
34
Q

Do constructive waves erode or deposit material?

A

Deposit material

35
Q

How is rock type arranged on a discordant coastline?

A

Alternating bands of hard and soft rock at right angles to the coast

36
Q

How is rock type arranged on a concordant coastline?

A

Alternating bands of hard and soft rock parallel to the coast

37
Q

Explain how headlands and bays are formed [3]

A
  1. Headlands and bays from where there are alternating bands of resistant and less resistant rock along a coastline
  2. The less resistant rock is eroded faster, forming a bay
  3. Because the resistant rock erodes more slowly, it juts out, forming a headland
38
Q

How are headlands eroded to form caves, arches and stacks? [6]

A
  1. The resistant rock that makes up headlands often has cracks
  2. Waves crash into the headlands and enlarge the cracks (by hydraulic action and abrasion)
  3. Repeated erosion and enlargement of the cracks causes a cave to form
  4. Continual erosion deepens the cave until it breaks through the headland to form an arch
  5. Erosion continues to wear away the rock supporting the arch, until it eventually collapses
  6. This forms a stack - an isolated rock that’s separated from the headland
39
Q

Explain how wave-cut platforms are formed [4]

A
  1. Waves cause most erosion at the foot of a cliff, forming a wave-cut notch which is enlarged over time
  2. Repeated erosion causes the rock above the notch to become unstable and it eventually collapses
  3. The collapsed material is washed away and a new wave-cut notch starts to form
  4. After repeated collapses the cliff retreats, leaving a wave-cut platform
40
Q

Explain how spits are formed [3]

A
  1. Spits form at sharp bends in the coastline
  2. Longshore drift transports sand and shingle past the bend and deposits it in the sea
  3. Strong waves and waves can curve the end of the spit
41
Q

What can form behind spits [1] and why [1]?

A
  1. Mud flats or salt marshes
  2. The area is sheltered from waves, so material accumulates
42
Q

Explain how bars and lagoons are formed? [3]

A
  1. A bar forms when a spit joins two headlands together
  2. The bay between the headlands gets cut off from the sea
  3. This means a lagoon can form behind the bar
43
Q

How are offshore bars formed?

A

If the coast has a gentle slope, friction with the sea bed causes waves to slow down and deposit sediment offshore

44
Q

Explain how sand dunes are formed [5]

A
  1. Sand dunes are formed when sand deposited by longshore drift is moved up the beach by wind
  2. Obstacles cause wind speed to decrease so sand is deposited, forming small embryo dunes
  3. Embryo dunes are colonised by plants
  4. The roots of the vegetation stabilise the sand, encouraging more sand to accumulate there
  5. This forms foredunes and mature dunes
45
Q

Why type of waves are sand beaches formed by?

A

Low energy waves

46
Q

Why are sand beaches flat and wide?

A

Sand particles are small so the weak backwash can move them back down the beach, creating a long, gentle slope

47
Q

What type of waves are shingle beaches formed by?

A

High energy waves

48
Q

Why are shingle beaches steep and narrow?

A

Sand particles are washed away but larger shingle is left behind. The shingle particles build up to create a steep slope

49
Q

What is hard engineering?

A

Man-made sructures built to control the flow of the sea and reduce flooding and erosion

50
Q

What is soft engineering?

A

Schemes set up using knowledge of the sea and its processes to reduce the effects of flooding and erosion

51
Q

What is a sea wall?

A

A wall made out of a hard material like concrete that reflects waves back to sea

52
Q

Benefits of a sea wall [2]

A
  1. Prevents erosion of the coast
  2. Also acts as a barrier to prevent flooding
53
Q

Costs of a sea wall [2]

A
  1. Creates a strong backwash that erodes under the wall
  2. Expensive to build and maintain
54
Q

What are gabions?

A

A wall of wire cages filled with rocks, usually built at the foot of cliffs

55
Q

Benefits of gabions [2]

A
  1. Absorb wave energy, reducing erosion
  2. Cheap and easy to build
56
Q

Costs of gabions [2]

A
  1. Ugly
  2. Wire cages can erode over time
57
Q

What is rock armour?

A

Boulders that are piled up along the coast (also called rip-rap)

58
Q

Benefits of rock armour? [2]

A
  1. Absorbs wave energy, reducing wave energy and flooding
  2. Cheap
59
Q

Costs of rock armour

A

Boulders can be dislodged by strong waves - have to be replaced

60
Q

What are groynes?

A

Wooden or stone fences that are built at right angles to the coast. They trap material transported by longshore drift

61
Q

Benefits of groynes [2]

A
  1. Create wider beaches, slowing waves and reducing erosion and flooding
  2. Cheap
62
Q

Costs of groynes

A

Starve beaches further down of material, making them narrower and more vulnerable to erosion

63
Q

What is beach nourishment and reprofiling?

A

Sand and shingle from elsewhere or from lower down the beach is added to the upper part of beaches

64
Q

Benefits of beach nourishment and reprofiling

A

Creates wider beaches, slwoing waves and protecting from erosion and flooding

65
Q

Costs of beach nourishment and reprofiling [2]

A
  1. Very expensive
  2. Has to be repeated
66
Q

What is dune regeneration?

A

Creating or restoring sand dunes by nourishment, or by planting vegetation to stabilise the sand

67
Q

Benefits of dune regeneration [2]

A
  1. Dunes create a barrier, absorbing wave energy and preveting erosion and flooding
  2. Stabilisation is cheap
68
Q

Costs of dune regeneration [2]

A
  1. Protection is limited to a small area
  2. Nourishment is very expensive

Geography (7 decks)

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