Coastal Zone Vocab Flashcards
Arch
A headland that has been partly broken through by the sea to form a thin-roofed arch
Attrition
The knocking together of pebbles making them gradually smaller and smoother
Backwash
The backward movement of water down a beach when a wave has broken
Bar
A split that has grown across a bay, trapping a freshwater lake or lagoon behind it
Bay
A broad coastal inlet often with a beach
Beach
A deposit of sand or shingle at the coast, often found at the head of a bay
Beach depletion
The loss of beach material eg. by offshore dredging of shingle banks
Cave
A hollowed-out feature at the base of an eroding cliff
Constructive wave
A powerful wave with a strong Swash that surges up a beach
Corrasion
The effect of rocks being flung at the cliff by powerful waves
Crest
The top of a wave
Destructive wave
A wave formed by a local storm that crashes down onto a beach and has a powerful backwash
Fetch
The distance of open water over which the wind can blow
Hard engineering
Building artificial structures such as sea walls, aimed at controlling natural processes
Headland
A promontory of land jutting out into the sea
Hydraulic power
The sheer power of the waves
Longshore drift
The transport of sediment ALONG a stretch of coastline, caused by the waves approaching the beach at the same angle as the prevailing wind
Managed retreat
Allowing the controlled flooding of low-lying costal areas or cliff collapse to occur in areas where the value of land is low
Marine/coastal erosion
The wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by waves and tides
Mass movement
The downhill movement of material under the influence of gravity
Pioneer plant
The first plant species to colonise an area that is well adapted to living in a harsh environment
Prevailing wind
Winds that blow predominantly from a single direction
Rockfall
The collapse of a cliff face or the fall of individual rocks from a cliff
Saltation
A hopping movement of pebbles along the seabed
Salt marsh
Low-lying coastal wetland mostly extending between high and low tide
Shoreline Management Plan (SMP)
An integrated coastal management plan for a stretch of coastline in England and Wales
Soft engineering
A sustainable approach to managing the coast without using artificial structures
Solution (erosion)
The dissolving of rocks, such as limestone and chalk
Solution (transportation)
The transport of dissolved chemicals
Spit
A finger of new land made of sand or shingle, jutting out into the sea from the coast
Stack
An isolated pinnacle of rock sticking out of the sea
Stump
An eroded stack, exposed only at low tide and covered with water at high tide
Suspension
Lighter particles are carried within the water
Swash
The forward movement of a wave up a beach
Traction
Heavy particles are rolled along the seabed
Vegetation succession
A sequence of vegetation species colonising an environment
Wave-cut notch
A small indentation (or notch) cut into a cliff roughly at the level of high tide, caused by concentrated marine erosion at this level
Wave-cut platform
A wide, gently sloping rocky surface at the foot of a cliff
Weathering
The disintegration or decay of rocks in their original place (in situ) at or close to the close to the ground surface
Abrasion
The ‘sandpapering’ effect of pebbles grinding over a rocky platform, often causing it to become smooth
