Coastal system key words Flashcards
What is abrasion / attrition?
A form of erosion where lose material sandpapers the walls and floors of the river, cliff and glacier
What is Backshore?
The upper beach closest to the land, eg sand dunes and cliffs
What is beach morphology?
The surface shape of the beach
What is coastal recession?
The retreat of the coastline because of erosion, sea level rise or submergence
What is a concordant coastline?
A coastline where bands of alternate geology run parallel to the coast
What is corrosion?
Form of erosion when breaking waves fling material at a cliff face and knocking off material
What is a Dalmatian coast?
Concordant coastlines with multiple river valleys running perpendicular to the coast. They become flooded to produce parallel Long Islands and inlets
What is DEFRAS CBA?
An evaluation of coastal towns economic value compared to the management that is required.
What is a discordant coast?
Coastline where bands of alternate geology run perpendicular to the shore
What is a dynamic equilibrium?
When the system trues to achieve a balance by making constant changes in response to the changing system
What is an emergent coast?
A coastline that’s advancing relative to the sea level at the time
What does eustatic mean?
Global changes to sea levels
What is a fetch?
Distance that the wave travels before it reaches the coastline. Distance to the nearest land mass in the direction that the wave travels
What is a fjord?
Long narrow inlet that’s deeper in the middle than the mouth, created when sea levels rise relative to the land, floods coastal glacial valleys
What is a foreshore?
Lower part of the beach covered twice a day at high tide (It receives the most wave action)
What is freeze thaw?
Form of physical sub-aerial weathering where water freezes in the cracks of rocks, it expands and enlarges the crack and weakens the rock
What is geology ?
The structure and arrangement of a rock
What is glacial erosion?
The removal of loose material by glacier ice, involving plucking, abrasion, crushing and basal meltwater
What is grading?
The layering of sediments based on their size
What are high-energy environments?
A coast where wave action is predominantly large destructive waves and they cause erosion
What is hydraulic action?
The pressure of compressed air forced into cracks in a rock causing it to weaken and break apart
What is integrated coastal zone management (ICZM)?
Large sections of the coastline that are managed with 1 strategy and management occurs in different political areas
What does impermeable mean?
A rock that doesn’t allow rainwater to pass through
What is isostatic?
A change in local coastline or land height relative to sea level
What is a littoral cell?
A section of the coast that involves Lots of sediment movement. Its an open system
What is longshore drift?
The transportation of sediment along a beach. It’s determined by the direction of prevailing wind
What is a low energy environment?
A coast where wave action is predominately small constructive waves and cause deposition, leading to beach accretion
What is mass movement?
The falling or movement of rock due to gravity
What is nearshore?
The area before the shore where wave steepness breaks before the shore. It extends from the low tide zone and then out to sea
What does permeable mean?
A rock that allows rainwater to pass through
What is pant succession?
Change to a plant community due to growing conditions adapting, eg - sand dunes and salt marshes
What are rias?
Narrow widening inlet, that is deepest at the mouth, formed when. sea levels rise and cause coastal valleys to flood
What is saltation?
Smaller sediment bounces along a seabed pushed by currents. The sediment’s too heavy to be picked up bt the flow of water
What is a sediment cell?
Sections of the coast
What is sediment budget?
Use of data on inputs, outputs, stores and transfers to assess the gains and losses of sediment within the cell
What is an SMP?
Identifies all activities that occur at the coastline natural and human, can have 4 actions for each stretch of the coastline- hold the line, advance the line, managed realignment and no action
What are sub - aerial processes>
Combinations of mass movement and weathering that affects the coastal land above the sea
What is a submergence coast?
A coast that’s sinking relative to the sea level at the time
What is a till/
Deposits of angular rock fragments in a finer material
What is wave quarrying>
Air is trapped and compressed against a cliff causing rock fragments to break off there cliff over time
