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Physical geography > Coasts > Flashcards

Coasts Flashcards

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1
Q

three components of a sediment cell

A

sources - where sediment originates
flows - movement longshore drift
sinks - where deposition dominates

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2
Q

negative feedback loop

A

lessens any change that occurred in the system

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3
Q

positive feedback loop

A

exaggerated changes - making more unstable

e.g. people walking over sand dunes - erosion

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4
Q

littoral zone components

A

backshore
foreshore
nearshore
offshore

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5
Q

abrasion

A

moved along the shoreline causing it to wear away

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6
Q

hydraulic action

A

the wave crashes onto rocks, air forced into cracks causing high pressure, forces rock to break open (cavitation)

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7
Q

corrosion/solution

A

acidic water erodes alkaline rock

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8
Q

attrition

A

rocks and pebbles collide, wearing down

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9
Q

what causes high erosion rates (physical)

A
  • long fetch
  • perpendicular waves to the cliff
  • heavy rainfall - percolation makes rocks weaker
  • destructive waves - strong backwash
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10
Q

which type of rock is the most vulnerable to erosion and which one is the least (examples)

A

sedimentary - limestone (weakest)

igneous - granite (strongest)

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11
Q

explain the formation of cave, arch, stack, stump

A
  • headlands attacked by marine erosion at the base, widens to become a CAVE
  • cave widens to another side of the headland due to erosion, causing an ARCH
  • This arch is then eroded until its unable to support its own mass, it collapses and leaves a STACK on the other side
  • This stack is then attacked at the base until it also collapses, leaving a stump
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12
Q

how does a wave-cut notch form

A
  • marine erosion attacks the base of the cliff, creating a notch of eroded material
  • as the notch becomes deeper, the cliff eventually collapses due to a lack of stability
  • there is then a platform left behind under the notch that didn’t collapse
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13
Q

traction

A

large heavy sediment rolled along the sea bed

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14
Q

saltation

A

smaller sediment bounces along the seabed

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15
Q

suspension

A

small sediment carried within the water column

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16
Q

solution

A

dissolved material carried with the water

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17
Q

swash-aligned transportation

A

parallel waves - limited longshore drift

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18
Q

drift-aligned transportation

A

perpendicular waves - longshore drift occurs the most

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19
Q

what is deposition

A

when waves lose energy and the sediment becomes too heavy to carry so it’s dropped

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20
Q

DP landform - spit

A
  • long narrow strip of land formed by longshore drift depositing sediment along a straight line. If prevailing winds change, a hook is created
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21
Q

DP landform - bars

A
  • overtime a spit crosses a bay and links two sections of the coast.
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22
Q

DP landform - tombolo

A
  • bar/beach that connects an offshore island to mainland due to wave refraction
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23
Q

DP landforms - cuspate forelands

A
  • triangular shaped headlands - longshore drift creates a beach on each side that connects and creates a cuspate foreland
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24
Q

DP landforms - offshore bars

A
  • sand deposited early at a region offshore
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25
Q

DP landforms - sand dunes

A
  • prevailing winds blow sediment to the back of the beach, causing the sand to dry
26
Q

sand dune succession processes

A

embryo dunes
- upper beach - sand accumulates around an object
yellow dunes
- vegetation develops and stabilises dunes
grey dunes
- sand develops in soil with lots of moisture and nutrients - when vegetation dies, plants evolve and become more evolved/varied

27
Q

weathering

A

breakdown of rocks over time then transferred to littoral zone as an input into a sediment cell

28
Q

freeze-thaw (Mechanical)

A
  • water enters cracks of water and then freezes (water expands) increasing pressure, leading to faults and weaknesses
29
Q

salt crystallisation (mechanical)

A
  • seawater evaporates leaving water behind, salt crystals grow over time exerting pressure and causing the rock to widen
30
Q

wetting and drying (mechanical)

A
  • rocks like clay expand when wet and contract when drying, frequent cycles of this lead to breaks
31
Q

Acid rain (chemical)

A
  • reacts with limestone to form calcium bicarbonate which is easily dissolved, allowing for erosion
32
Q

oxidisation (chemical)

A
  • minerals become exposed to oxygen e.g. iron minerals into iron oxide
33
Q

What is biological weathering

A

breakdown of rocks due to actions of plants, animals, and bacteria

34
Q

how do plant roots and birds contribute to biological weathering?

A

plant roots grow into cracks of rocks

birds dig burrows into cliffs weakening them

35
Q

what factors determine the severity of mass movement?

A

angle of slope
geology
saturation of ground

36
Q

what is soil creep and mudflows

A

soil creep
slow, continuous mass movement

mudflows
increase in water content in the soil

37
Q

concordant coastlines

A

rock strata run parallel to the coast, consisting of rocks with alternating resistances e.g. limestone and clays/sands

38
Q

what landforms do concordant include

A

Dalmatian coasts
- rise in sea levels - flooded river valleys
Haff coasts
- large bays crossed by spits, creating lagoons

39
Q

discordant coastlines

A

strata are perpendicular to the coast

creating headlands and bays due to different levels of resistance

40
Q

wave refraction

A

waves lose energy when approaching a headland or uneven coastlines, therefore the energy is concentrated on the headland. This creates erosional features

41
Q

how does vegetation stabilise coastline sediment

A
  • roots of plants bind the soil together reducing erosion

- plants reduce wind speed

42
Q

difference between xerophytes and halophytes

A

xerophytes - tolerant of dry conditions

halophytes - tolerant of salty conditions

43
Q

outline the process of plant succession

A

long term change in a plant community

  • pioneer plants grow in mud and sand
  • limited plant growth due to salty soil conditions
  • as these plants die they release nutrients that reduce the saltiness allowing for the growth of others
  • continuous process allowing new plants to colonise
44
Q

how is marram grass adapted

A
  • tough and flexible
  • adapted to reduce water loss; evapotranspiration
  • roots are deep
  • survive high temperatures
45
Q

high energy coastline

A
  • powerful waves / destructive - due to large fetch
  • erosion exceeds deposition - erosional landforms
  • rocky headlands
46
Q

low energy coastline

A
  • less powerful waves (constructive) - sheltered area
  • depositions exceeds erosion
  • sandy beaches
47
Q

destructive waves

A
  • erosional
  • high height
  • high frequency
  • strong backwash
48
Q

constructive waves

A
  • depositional - strong swash
  • low height
  • low frequency
49
Q

short term sea-level change causes

A
  • atmospheric pressure - low pressure, higher sea level
  • high or low tide - time of day
  • wind strength / direction
50
Q

isostatic sea level change causes

A

local scale sea-level rise

  • post-glacial adjustment
  • tectonic activity
51
Q

eustatic sea-level change causes

A

global rise in sea-level

  • thermal expansion - as the water heats up it expands and therefore increases in volume
  • global warming e.g. melting glaciers
52
Q

what is coastalisation and why does it occur

A

movement of people towards the coast

  • tourism
  • agricultural productivity
  • housing pressure
53
Q

what is a storm surge?

A

short term change in sea level

maybe due to low pressure e.g. tropical cyclone

54
Q

what factors exacerbate storm surges

A
  • subsidence of land
  • removing natural vegetation e.g. mangroves
  • global warming
55
Q

ICZM - integrated coastal zone management

A
  • managing the coast as a whole rather than segments
  • different UK councils working together
  • sustainability and the best long term choice
  • all stakeholders must be considered
56
Q

Hard Eng - groynes

A 
rock protrusions that trap sediment 
\+ builds up the beach - good for tourism
\+ cost-effective 
- unappealing 
- exacerbates erosion elsewhere
57
Q

Hard Eng - sea walls

A 
concrete structures that absorb wave energy
\+ effective 
\+ tourism promenade maintenance 
- unappealing
- wave energy refracted elsewhere
58
Q

Soft Eng - beach nourishment

A

+ looks natural
+ increases the size of beach
- needs regular maintenance

59
Q

Soft Eng - dune stabilisation

A

marram grass planted
+ cost-effective
- time-consuming

60
Q

Soft Eng - marsh creation

A

allows low-lying areas to flood
+ wildlife habitat creation
- farmers may lose land as a result

Physical geography (5 decks)

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