Coasts Flashcards
What is a concordant coastline?
Different rock strata with varying resistance to erosion are aligned parallel to the coastline
What is the case study for concordant coastlines and what type of strata does it have?
South Dorset Coastline, resistant Portland limestone and weak Wealden clay
What coastal feature forms from a concordant coastline and what is the case study for this feature?
Coves, Lulworth Cove
How do coves form?
At points where Portland limestone is weaker due to the presence of joints, hydraulic action/abrasion break through resistant layer and rapidly erode weaker strata behind it
What is a discordant coastline?
Different rock strata with varying resistance to erosion are aligned at an angle to the coastline
What coastal features form from a discordant coastline and what is the case study for these features?
Headlands and bays, Bantry Bay - weak carboniferous limestone and Devonian Old Red sandstone
What are the 2 alternative concordant coastlines?
Dalmatian and Haff
What is the case study for a Dalmatian coastline?
Croatia - tectonic forces from collision of African and Eurasian plates compressed carboniferous limestone and created synclines and anticlines, synclines flooded by sea level rise at the end of Devensian period
What is the case study for a Haff coastline?
Neman Haff
What is the case study for horizontal dip influencing cliff profile?
Glamorgan Heritage coastline - sedimentary rocks deposited horizontally and are tilted by tectonic forces
What coastal features usually form from a horizontal dip?
Notches, wave-cut platforms
What are the 2 types of rock?
Sedimentary and igneous
What can sedimentary rock be classed as and what processes took place to make them this way over many years?
Clastic, cementation and compaction
What reactive mineral in sedimentary rock does acid rain react with and what pH is acid rain (weak carbonic acid)?
Calcite, pH 5.6
What are the 3 types of weathering?
Chemical, mechanical, biological
What coastal features does chemical weathering produce?
Grooves and runnels
By what % does water expand by when it freezes in a crack (mechanical/freeze-thaw weathering)?
9%
Which process other than weathering is clastic rock susceptible to?
Hydraulic action
How do plant stems/leaves increase sediment accumulation (plant succession)?
Reduce velocity of wind and water carrying sediment which leads to deposition
What are embryo dunes colonised by and give an example?
Xerophytic pioneer species e.g. sea rocket
What do xerophytic pioneer species allow to grow and what does the plant create?
Marram grass, yellow dune
What does marram grass add to the sand when it dies, what type of dune does it create, and what type of plant grows here?
Hummus, grey dune, gorse
What is an example of a halophytic pioneer species and what do they do in salt marshes?
Blue-green algae, binds mud and sediment and adds organic matter
When mud is covered for less time by the tide, what species can grow at a salt marsh?
Halophytic glasswort and then sea lavendar
What can happen after a salt marsh eventually rises above tide level?
Rain washes salt from the soil so non-halophytic plants can grow
How does wave amplitude increase?
- Internal orbital motion of wave comes into contact with sea floor at depth of 1/2 the wavelength
- Front of wave slows down, allowing back of wave to catch up
- Wave amplitude increases
What do constructive waves have and what sediment profile do they form?
Strong swash and weak backwash, graduated sediment profile
What do destructive waves have and what sediment profile do they form?
Weak swash and strong backwash, mixed sediment profile
What 8 things influence the likeliness of a wave to erode a coastline?
- Windspeed
- Fetch
- Wind direction
- Sea level rise
- Angle at which wave is attacking
- Storms
- Seasons
- Tides
What marine process occurs around headlands?
Wave refraction
What 4 coastal features can from from the erosion of a headland and what is the case study?
Caves, arches, stacks, stumps, Old Harry Rocks
Which process forms a spit?
Longshore drift
What is the case study for spit formation?
Spurn Head, Holderness
At what angle does backwash drag sediment backwards after it has been pushed to the shore by prevailing winds?
90°
Where does wave energy dissipate as it transports sediment down the coast?
When it reaches deeper water e.g. river mouth
How does a spit form once wave energy has dissipated?
Sediment particles deposited on sea bed via gravity settling, once enough settled particles break the surface a spit forms
Where is wave energy focused when forming a bayhead beach and where does it dissipate to?
Focused on the headlands, dissipates into the bay due to wave refraction
How is a bayhead beach built up?
Constructive, lower-energy waves deposit sediment
Which coastal feature can be both swash-aligned and drift-aligned?
Tombolo
What is the case study for tombolo formation?
St. Ninian’s Isle
How does a drift-aligned tombolo form?
Longshore drift builds a spit out from land until it connects with an offshore island
How does a swash-aligned tombolo form?
Wave refraction around both sides of offshore island causes a collision of wave fronts on the landward side which produces a zone of calm water where deposition occurs between the island and coast
Which process is a negative feedback loop?
Rockfall - forms rock armour at the base of the cliff which dissipates wave energy
Which process is a positive feedback loop?
Storm causes erosion of a sand dune - vegetation removed so the sand dune isn’t stabilised and continues to be further eroded
How does salt crystallisation increase recession rates?
Seawater penetrates cracks in rock at high tide and evaporates at low tide, leaving NaCl crystals which grow and exert tensional force on the crack, widening it and leading to the granular disintegration of rock