Coastal processes key terms Flashcards
Abrasion
erosion caused by the river picking up stones and rubbing them against the bed and banks of the channel in the flow
Aquifer
an underground store of water, formed when permeable rocks lie on top of impermeable rocks
Attrition
gradual wearing down of the particles by erosion as they collide with each other, making them smaller and rounder.
Backwash
water from a breaking wave which flows under gravity down a beach and returns to the sea
Bay
a feature produced when erosion creates an indent in the coastline
Constructive waves
small, weak waves with a low frequency that add sand and other sediment to the coastline because they do not break with much force
Corrosion
chemical erosion caused by the dissolving of rocks and minerals by water
Deposition
the dropping of sediment that was being carried by a moving force
Destructive
large, powerful waves with a high frequency that tend to take sediment away from the beach, because their backwash is greater than their swash.
Drainage basin
the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries
Erosion
the wearing away and removal of material by a moving force, such as a breaking wave
Estuary
a river mouth that is wide and experiences tidal conditions
Fetch
the distance of sea over which winds blow and waves move towards the coastline
Flood plain
the relatively flat area forming the valley floor on either side of a river channel, which is sometimes flooded
Flood risk
the predicted frequency of floods in an area
Ground water
water contained beneath the surface, as a reserve
Hard engineering
using solid structures to resist forces of erosion
3 types of hard engineering
Rock armour, groynes, sea wall
Headland
a part of the coastland that protrudes into the sea
Hydroelectric Power
the use of fast flowing water to turn turbines which produce electricity
Hydrograph
a graph which shows the the discharge of a river, related to rainfall, over a period of time.
Hydro power
electricity generated by turbines that are driven by moving water
Infiltration
the process whereby water soaks into the soil and rock
Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)
the system of dividing the UK coastline into zones that can be manages holistically
interlocking spurs
areas of high land which stick out into a steep-sided valley
Levees
natural embankments of sediment along the banks of a river
Long profile
the gradient of a river, from its source to its mouth
Longshore drift
the movement of material along a coast by breaking waves
Lower course
that part of a river system that is close to the mouth of the river
Meanders
the bends formed in a river as it winds across the landscape
Mid-course
the central section of a river’s course
over-abstraction
when water is being used more quickly that its being replaced
ox-bow lake
an arc-shaped lake which has been cut off from a meandering river
How is ox bow lake formed
After a long period of time, the meander becomes very curved, and the neck of the meander becomes narrower and the river cuts through the neck during a flood, cutting off the meander
