coastal landscapes key notes Flashcards
what is the littoral zone
the wider coastal zone including adjacent land areas and shallow parts of the sea
exposed to air at full tide and underwater at high tide
what are the 4 litoral zones
backshore
- usually above the influence of waves
forshore
- inter tidal or surf zone
nearshore
- breaker zone
offshore
-beyond influence of waves
what are the inputs into coastal systems
- marine (waves)
-atmospheric ( weather) - land (rock)
- people
what are the main processes in coastal landscapes
- weathering
- mass movement
- erosion
- transport
- deposition
what are the main outputs in coastal landscapes
- erosional landforms
- depositional landforms
- different types of coast
what are coasts classified based on
- geology- rocky, sandy, discordant, concordant
- energy- high or low
-balance- between erosion and deposition - sea level- emergent or submergent
what are the features of a high energy coastline
- powerful waves
- rate of erosion is higher that deposition
- eg cornwall and north west scotland
- headlands, cliffs, shoreline platforms
what are the features of low energy coastlines
- less powerful waves
- deposition higher than erosion
- eg lincolnshire and northumberland
- spits , beaches and coastal plains
what are concordant coasts
where type of rock runs parallel to the coast
- eg south dorset
what are discordant coasts
- type of rock runs perpendicular to the coast
- eg East dorset
what are the features of a submergent coast
- have been flooded due to rise in sea levels
- eustatic seal level change
- dalmatian coasts
- haff coasts - long spits
what are the features of emergent coasts
- formed when water level has fallen or land has risen
- isostatic change
- rocky coastline with cliffs and platforms
- west coast of usa
what is coastal recession
coastal erosion
what are joints
fractures caused by contraction from sediment drying out or earth moving
what are strata
layers of rock
what is the dip of a rock
the angle at which the rock layers lie
what is lithology
physical characteristics of rocks
what is morphology
shape and form of coastal landscapes
what are bedding planes
natural breaks in strata
what are folds
formed by pressure during tectonic activity makes rock crumble
what are faults
when stress or pressure causes faults to slip or move
what are sedimentery, metamorphic and igneous rocks and how are they made
SEDIMENTARY
- created by build up of sediment over millions of years on bottom of ocean
- compacted by own weight
- sandstone and limestone
METAMORPHIC
- created from sedimentary and igneous that are subjected to extreme heat and pressure
- usually through subduction
- slate and marble
IGNEOUS
- volcanic activity it is formed from cooled magma
- granite and basalt
what is the geology of the uk
- SE is generally made from softer rock like clay and chalk
- SW is harder rock like basalt
- SW- cornwall faces bad weather but withstands erosion as made from igneous basalt, old sedimentary and slates which are all resistant
- SE made from younger weaker geology
what is the MOhs hardness scale
- relative hardness of rock is measured using scale that looks at what other materials could scratch it
- eg diamond at top and calcite near bottom