Coastal processes key terms

Question 1

Abrasion

Answer 1

erosion caused by the river picking up stones and rubbing them against the bed and banks of the channel in the flow

Question 2

Aquifer

Answer 2

an underground store of water, formed when permeable rocks lie on top of impermeable rocks

Question 3

Attrition

Answer 3

gradual wearing down of the particles by erosion as they collide with each other, making them smaller and rounder.

Question 4

Backwash

Answer 4

water from a breaking wave which flows under gravity down a beach and returns to the sea

Question 5

Bay

Answer 5

a feature produced when erosion creates an indent in the coastline

Question 6

Constructive waves

Answer 6

small, weak waves with a low frequency that add sand and other sediment to the coastline because they do not break with much force

Question 7

Corrosion

Answer 7

chemical erosion caused by the dissolving of rocks and minerals by water

Question 8

Deposition

Answer 8

the dropping of sediment that was being carried by a moving force

Question 9

Destructive

Answer 9

large, powerful waves with a high frequency that tend to take sediment away from the beach, because their backwash is greater than their swash.

Question 10

Drainage basin

Answer 10

the area of land drained by a river and its tributaries

Question 11

Erosion

Answer 11

the wearing away and removal of material by a moving force, such as a breaking wave

Question 12

Estuary

Answer 12

a river mouth that is wide and experiences tidal conditions

Question 13

Fetch

Answer 13

the distance of sea over which winds blow and waves move towards the coastline

Question 14

Flood plain

Answer 14

the relatively flat area forming the valley floor on either side of a river channel, which is sometimes flooded

Question 15

Flood risk

Answer 15

the predicted frequency of floods in an area

Question 16

Ground water

Answer 16

water contained beneath the surface, as a reserve

Question 17

Hard engineering

Answer 17

using solid structures to resist forces of erosion

Question 18

3 types of hard engineering

Answer 18

Rock armour, groynes, sea wall

Question 19

Headland

Answer 19

a part of the coastland that protrudes into the sea

Question 20

Hydroelectric Power

Answer 20

the use of fast flowing water to turn turbines which produce electricity

Question 21

Hydrograph

Answer 21

a graph which shows the the discharge of a river, related to rainfall, over a period of time.

Question 22

Hydro power

Answer 22

electricity generated by turbines that are driven by moving water

Question 23

Infiltration

Answer 23

the process whereby water soaks into the soil and rock

Question 24

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)

Answer 24

the system of dividing the UK coastline into zones that can be manages holistically

Question 25

interlocking spurs

Answer 25

areas of high land which stick out into a steep-sided valley

Question 26

Levees

Answer 26

natural embankments of sediment along the banks of a river

Question 27

Long profile

Answer 27

the gradient of a river, from its source to its mouth

Question 28

Longshore drift

Answer 28

the movement of material along a coast by breaking waves

Question 29

Lower course

Answer 29

that part of a river system that is close to the mouth of the river

Question 30

Meanders

Answer 30

the bends formed in a river as it winds across the landscape

Question 31

Mid-course

Answer 31

the central section of a river’s course

Question 32

over-abstraction

Answer 32

when water is being used more quickly that its being replaced

Question 33

ox-bow lake

Answer 33

an arc-shaped lake which has been cut off from a meandering river

Question 34

How is ox bow lake formed

Answer 34

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