Coasts Flashcards
What are inputs?
Things that enter the system from outside sources/systems
What are flows/ transfers?
Processes of movement within a system
What are stores / components?
Parts of a system not necessarily in motion
What are outputs?
Material / energy moving out of a system
What are feedbacks?
Can be positive (flow leads to increase/ growth) or negative (flow leads to decrease / decline)
What does fluvial mean?
River based
What does dynamic equilibrium mean?
A system in dynamic equilibrium has inputs and outputs of energy and matter that balance
Factors that influence dynamic equilibrium in coasts
1) Supply of sand
2) Energy of the waves
3) Sea level changes
4) Location of the shoreline
What are Landforms?
Individual features which are crested by coastal processes.
What are landscapes?
The entire area of sea, coastline, and immediate land behind the sea front. Within the landscape are characteristic land forms.
What are the four sources of coastal energy?
- Wind
- Waves
- Currents
- Tides
How does the sun create wind?
The sun heats different parts of the globe at different rates. Warmer areas have higher pressures, causing air to rise, creating low surface pressure. Gas will move from high pressure to low pressure areas, creating wind.
Tides definition
The periodic ride and fall in the level of the sea, caused by the gravitational pull of the sun and the moon
Spring tides
More extreme low / high tide
The sun and the moon’s gravity is pulling the oceans on the same plane
Neap tide
Less extreme low/ high tides
The sun and moon are pulling on opposite plains
