Coasts Flashcards
What is wind?
Areas go high pressure and low pressure form.
The movement of high pressure to low air pressure.
How are waves formed?
Frictional drag between wind and the sea surface.
This makes the particles move in a circular motion/orbit of water.
What does the term fetch mean?
The area of surface over which the wind blows in one direction.
What is the wave crest?
The highest point of a wave.
What is the wave trough?
The lowest point of a wave.
What are some characteristics of constructive waves?
Low surging waves with a long wavelength
Strong swash and weak backwash
Beach gain
What are some characteristics of deconstructive waves?
Local storms are responsible for these
High, plunging waves with a short wavelength
Beach loss
Weak swash and strong backwash
What is wave refraction?
This occurs on irregular shaped coastlines, it is when the front of a wave reaches shallow water and the frictional drag increases the wave velocity. The waves then speed up and wave height increases, this then causes deposition in the bays.
What causes tides?
Gravitational pull of the moon and the sun.
Through the earths rotation
What are ocean currents?
Ocean currents can be found at both the bottom of the ocean and on the surface, the shape of land can influence ocean currents.
What are the inputs of sediment?
Cliff erosion
Eroding, dunes, spits
Beach recharge
Offshore bars
What are the transfers of sediment?
Longshore drift
Currents
Saltation
Wind
What are the stores of sediment?
Offshore banks Spits Bars Beaches Dunes
What are sediment cells?
The areas along coastlines or near the coastline where material is largely self contained.
They are considered a closed sub system
Tend to be between headlands and peninsular which act as natural carries.
How are headlands and bays formed?
When hard rock is left as the soft rock between is eroded.
In discordant coastlines
Differential erosions.