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Geography > Coastal processes > Flashcards

Coastal processes Flashcards

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1
Q

How are waves created?

A

When the wind blows over the sea.

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2
Q

What factors does the size and energy of a wave depend on?

A

the fetch
the strength of the wind
how long the wind has been blowing for

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3
Q

What is the fetch of a wave?

A

How far the wave has travelled.

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4
Q

What are the different types of wave?

A

Constructive and destructive

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5
Q

What determines the type of wave?

A

The energy of the swash and backwash.

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6
Q

What is the swash?

A

The water that rushes up the beach when a wave reaches the shore.

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7
Q

What is the backwash?

A

The water that flows back towards the sea.

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8
Q

What is a destructive wave?

A

Waves which remove material from the beach. The swash is weaker than the backwash.

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9
Q

What are the characteristics of a destructive wave?

A

weak swash and strong backwash
the strong backwash removes sediment from the beach
the waves are steep and close together

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10
Q

What is sediment?

A

Small fragments of rock and soil that form layers.

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11
Q

What is a constructive wave?

A

Waves which help build up material on the beach. They tend to have a low frequency and strong swash.

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12
Q

What are the characteristics of a constructive wave?

A

strong swash and weak backwash
the strong swash brings sediments to build up the beach
the backwash is not strong enough to remove the sediment
the waves are low and further apart

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13
Q

When does freeze-thaw weathering occur?

A

when rocks are porous (contain holes) or permeable (allow water to pass through)

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14
Q

What does porous mean?

A

contains holes

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15
Q

What does permeable mean?

A

allows water to pass through

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16
Q

What is the process of freeze-thaw weathering?

A
  1. Water enters cracks in the rock.
  2. When temperatures drop, the water freezes and expands causing the crack to widen.
  3. The ice melts and water makes its way deeper into the cracks.
  4. The process repeats itself until the rock splits entirely.
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17
Q

What is the process of biological weathering?

A
  1. Plant roots can get into small cracks in the rock.
  2. As the roots grow, the cracks become larger.
  3. This causes small pieces of rock to break away.
18
Q

What is chemical weathering?

A

Rainwater and seawater can be a weak acid. If a coastline is made up of rocks such as limestone or chalk, over time they can become dissolved by the acid in the water.

19
Q

What types of weathering are there?

A

freeze-thaw, biological and chemical

20
Q

What are the four different types of mass movement?

A

rockfall, mudflow, landslide, rotational slip

21
Q

What is mass movement?

A

A large-scale downward movement of rocks and material.

22
Q

What is a rockfall?

A

When bits of rock fall off the cliff face, usually due to freeze-thaw weathering.

23
Q

What is a mudflow?

A

When saturated soil (soil filled with water) flows down a slope.

24
Q

What is a landslide?

A

When large blocks of rock slide downhill.

25
Q

What is a rotational slip?

A

When saturated soil slumps down a curved surface.

26
Q

What is erosion?

A

the wearing away of rock along the coastline

27
Q

What is hydraulic action?

A

This is the sheer power of the waves as they smash against the cliff. Air becomes trapped in the cracks in the rock and causes the rock to break apart.

28
Q

What is abrasion?

A

This is when pebbles grind along a rock platform, much like sandpaper. Over time the rock becomes smooth.

29
Q

What is attrition?

A

This is when rocks that the sea is carrying knock against each other. They break apart to become smaller and more rounded.

30
Q

What is solution?

A

This is when sea water dissolves certain types of rocks. In the UK, chalk and limestone cliffs are prone to this type of erosion.

31
Q

What are the types of transportation?

A

solution, suspension, saltation and traction

32
Q

What is solution?

A

When minerals in rocks like chalk and limestone are dissolved in sea water and then carried in solution. The load is not visible.

33
Q

What is suspension?

A

Small particles such as silts and clays are suspended in the flow of the water.

34
Q

What is saltation?

A

Where small pieces of shingle or large sand grains are bounced along the sea bed.

35
Q

What is traction?

A

Where pebbles and larger material are rolled along the sea bed.

36
Q

What is longshore drift?

A

The movement of material along a coastline due to the angled approach of waves.

37
Q

What happens in longshore drift?

A

Waves approach the coast at an angle because of the direction of prevailing wind. The swash will carry the material towards the beach at an angle. The backwash then flows back to the sea, down the slope of the beach. The process repeats itself along the coast in the zigzag movement.

38
Q

What is deposition?

A

When the sea loses energy and it drops/deposited the material it has been carrying.

39
Q

What type of waves are needed for deposition to occur?

A

constructive waves

40
Q

What are factors that can lead to deposition?

A

waves starting to slow down and lose energy
shallow water
sheltered areas, eg bays
little or no wind

Geography (4 decks)

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