Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM

Browse over 1 million classes created by top students, professors, publishers, and experts.


See full index

Geography > •Coasts 2 > Flashcards

•Coasts 2 Flashcards

You may prefer our related Brainscape-certified flashcards:
U.S. Geography flashcards World Geography flashcards
1
Q

What is weathering?

A

The break down of rocks in situ due to the atmospheric weather

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

What happens in freeze-thaw weathering?

A

Water renters areas of weakness and freezes

Ice occupies more space than water, exerting pressure on the rock

Fragments of rock break off, producing scree or talus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

What happens in heating and cooling?

A

Rocks are heated to extreme temperatures during the day then cool at night

Temperature changes cause stresses in the rock to be set up and this causes it to disintegrate

This process is sometimes known as insolation weathering

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

What is wetting and drying?

A

Rocks expand when wet and contract when dry

Stresses induced by this cycle of wet and dry conditions cause the rock to crumble

This is also known as slaking and may occur in intertidal areas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

What is exfoliation?

A

Rocks heat and cool at different rates due to poor conductivity

The outer layers of the rock split off (like the skin of an onion) as a result of heating and cooling)

This type of weathering is common where rainfall is low and temperatures are high

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

What is pressure release?

A

Bodies of rock may be exposed by erosion or the removal of ice, having been covered for millions of years, causing the rock to ‘relax’

The release of pressure causes the outer layer of the rock to split off (like the skin of an onion)

Domes are produced in this process which is also known as sheeting

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

What is crystal growth?

A

Crystals (magnesium sulphate and calcium carbonate are examples) grow in spaces within rock)

Growing crystals, often resulting from the evaporation of saline water, prise the rock apart

This process is also known as salt weathering and is common in semi-arid areas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

What is organic action?

A

Roots exert a destructive force on rock as they grow

Tree roots prise rock apart

Burrowing animals may remove soil and expose rock to other forms of weathering

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

What is carbonation?

A

Carbon dioxide reacts with water to produce a weak carbonic acid

Carbonic acid reacts with calcium carbonate (limestone), producing calcium bicarbonate

Calcium bicarbonate is soluble in water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

What is hydration?

A

Rock absorbs water

Anhydrite (a form of calcium sulphate) absorbs water and becomes gypsum

Rock swells and is easier to break down

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

What is oxidation?

A

Oxygen (often dissolved in water) combines with minerals in rock, forming oxides

When iron in a rock containing it and oxygen combine, rust forms and the molecular structure of the rock collapses

This process often happens in rock containing iron

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

What is hydrolysis?

A

Carbonic acid releases hydrogen in water, which reacts with the minerals in the rock

Water ions combine with ions from the rock, causing it to disintegrate

Rocks, such as granite, containing Feldspar, are commonly affected

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

What is chelation?

A

Lichens and mosses produce a weak acid

Weak acid dissolves rocks and minerals which are transported away by water

Rocks break down into smaller and smaller pieces and this process is significant in the formation of soils

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

What is solution weathering?

A

Certain minerals in rock, such as rock salt (halite), dissolve in water

No chemical reaction is required

This process is commonly associated with carbonation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

What is rockfall?

A

Rapid movement on steep slopes that can be caused by extreme weathers

Broken materials fall to the cliff foot which is called talus

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

What is a landslide?

A

When rocks move downwards quickly due to gravity

Water in joints makes it more likely to happen

More likely if underlying bed is impermeable

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

What is a rotational slip?

A

The movement of material along a curved plane

Material takes on water which creates an increase in mass

Gravity pulls it down

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

What is a mudflow?

A

Clay particles with high water content rapidly move.

Likely to occur in mountainous and periglacial areas

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

What is solifluction?

A

The slow downhill moment of saturated soil that occurs in cold climates in gentle slopes

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

What is soil creep?

A

The extremely slow and continuous movement caused by lubrication by rain mainly on cliffs with no vegetation

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

What are the zones of a coast?

A 
Onshore zone
Backshore zone 
Swans zone
Intertidal and nearshore zone 
Surf zone 
Breaker zone
Offshore and subtidal zone
How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

What are the main sources of energy at a coast?

A

Waves

Tides

Winds

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
23
Q

Why are waves important in creating coastal landscapes?

A

They cause transportation, deposition and erosion

If have more energy they will cause erosion and transportation to form cliffs and shore platforms

If have less energy they will cause deposition to form beaches

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
24
Q

Why are tides important in creating coastal landscapes?

A

Caused by the gravitational pull from the sun and the moon.

They are useful as they can deposit coarser material to form mudflats

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
25
Q

How is wind important in the creating of coastal landscapes?

A

Used to transport finer materials to form landforms for example sand dunes.

Not as useful as tides and waves.

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
26
Q

What causes waves?

A

Friction of the sea floor as water slows down or from the wind

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
27
Q

What three factors determine the amount of energy a wave has?

A

The prevailing wind

The distance the wave has travelled (the fetch)

The depth of the water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
28
Q

Why do higher waves cause more erosion than lower ones?

A

Powerful waves are steep as they are high and have a short wavelength.

They have more energy as there is more water

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
29
Q

What is fetch?

How does it influence erosion?

A

The larger the fetch, the bigger and more powerful a wave is

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
30
Q

What is a dominant wave?

A

The fastest wave

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
31
Q

What is prevailing wind?

What is the main prevailing wind in England?

A

The most common wind direction

South west

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
32
Q

What is the trend between prevailing wind and dominant wave?

A

Often in the same direction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
33
Q

What is the difference between dominant wind and prevailing wind?

A

Dominant wind is the strongest wind but prevailing wind is the most common wind direction

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
34
Q

What is the process of a wave breaking?

A

Prevailing wind blows over the sea and the friction transfers energy causing the water to move as waves

Movement of deep water is in a circular orbit

When the water becomes shallower, friction from the sea bed slows the base of the wave so that the water there, is travelling more slowly than at the crest

The waves become more and more elliptical in shape. Wave length reduces and height increases- when the two are roughly the same, the wave breaks

Smash runs up the beach and backwash is the return of water down it

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
35
Q

What is a constructive wave?

A

They have a low wave height

Low frequency

Long wavelength

Strong swash

Weak backwash

Build up beach

36
Q

What is a destructive wave?

A

They have a high wave height

High frequency

Steep shape

Weak swash

Strong backwash

Remove sediment

37
Q

What is wave refraction?

A

The wave direction changes due to a change in the depth of the water.

In shallow water, waves get slower and in deep water they are quicker so the wave bends for example near a headland where it will drag and bend

38
Q

How to wave refraction affect wave energy?

A

The energy around headlands becomes more concentrated whereas the energy around bays is more spread out so headlands are more vulnerable to erosion and a bay is more vulnerable to deposition

39
Q

What is a swash-aligned beach?

A

When waves approach the shore with their crests parallel to the land

40
Q

What is a drift-aligned beach?

A

When waves approach the coast at an oblique angle of around 30 degrees

41
Q

What is a rip current?

A

When backwash is particularly powerful

They can erode and scour the beach of material

Also known as undertow

42
Q

What causes tides?

A

The gravitational pull of the moon and the sun

43
Q

What is a spring tide?

A

When the sun and the moon are aligned so forces work together

44
Q

What is a neap tide?

A

When the sun and moon are at right angles so forces work in different directions

45
Q

What is the difference between high and low tide called?

A

The tidal range

46
Q

What are the three types of tidal range?

A

Macrotidal - more than 4m

Mesotidal - 2m to 4m

Microtidal - up to 2m

47
Q

What does a small tidal range mean?

A

Energy becomes concentrated so erosion becomes focused on one area

Depositional beaches will be narrow

48
Q

What are the two main hazards that occur in spring tides?

A

Flooding and erosion

49
Q

What is the role of tides in shaping coastal landscapes?

A

High tides create caves, arches and stacks.

Neap and low tide causes deposition to form spits, mudflats and salt marshes

50
Q

What are tidal currents?

A

They operate on a local scale with flood currents occurring as water moves onshore at high tide and ebb currents happening as water moves offshore at low tide

Also known as surface current

51
Q

What are global surface ocean currents?

A

They are driven by winds created by the global circulation model

Also known as long shore current

52
Q

What is thermohaline circulation?

A

They occur on the surface and at depths throughout the ocean

Linked to heat and salinity of water

Cold and salty water sinks then is returned to the surface

Also known as upwelling

53
Q

How is limestone vulnerable?

A

It is vulnerable to sub aerial weathering in particular carbonation

54
Q

What is permeability?

A

A description of a substance that allows water to pass through it

55
Q

What is porosity?

A

The amount of areas between particles of a rock called pores. They determine how much water can pass through

56
Q

What is perviousness?

A

Rocks that have joints or fissures where water can flow

57
Q

What is impermeable?

A

A rock that doesn’t absorb water or allow water to pass through e.g granite

It causes surface run-off

58
Q

What is aspect?

A

The direction in which a coast faces

59
Q

How will a change in temperature affect the climate?

A

Higher= More chemical weathering e.g hydrolysis

Less= more physical

60
Q

How will a change in precipitation levels affect the climate?

A

High = strong chemical and physical e.g freeze- thaw

Low = slight physical

61
Q

How will a change in wind affect climate?

A

High = more mass movement

Low = more deposition

62
Q

How will processes change inland ?

A

Less erosion inland.

Mainly sub aerial weathering

Only erosion will be aoelian erosion

63
Q

What is clastic sediment?

A

Comes from weathering and erosion

64
Q

What is biogenic sediment?

A

Comes from the shells and skeletons of marine organisms

65
Q

What is fluvial sediment?

A

Sediment that has been transported to the coastal environment by rivers

66
Q

What is solution transportation?

A

Removal of dissolved minerals and weathered products by rainfall and percolating groundwater carried in water (dissolved)

67
Q

What is suspension transportation?

A

Small material carried in the flow of water

68
Q

What is saltation transportation?

A

Particles are lifted upwards and forwards before going back to their original surface (bouncing)

69
Q

What is traction transportation?

A

Pebbles and larger sediment are rolled along the sea bed

70
Q

What is the dynamic equilibrium?

A

When even though erosion, transportation and deposition occur, these differences balance each other out

71
Q

How many sediment cells are there on the coast of England and Wales?

A

11

72
Q

What is a sediment cell?

A

A length of coastline and its associated nearshore area within which the movement of coarse sediment (sand and shingle) is largely self-contained

73
Q

What happens at the boundary of a sediment cell?

A

The coastline changes direction

74
Q

What is a sediment budget?

A

The total amount of sediment circulating within each cell

75
Q

What is wave quarrying ?

A

The transportation and removal of loosened chunks of rock by waves as they retreat. Air forced into cracks by breaking waves has an explosive effect and loosens the material in the first place

76
Q

What is wave pounding?

A

The repeated force of waves breaking against cliffs weakens rock. This release of energy ultimately leads to the breakdown of the rock. This is sometimes said to be the same as hydraulic action

77
Q

What is hydraulic action?

A

Breaking waves can force air into the gaps in rocks/cliffs, exerting pressure on the rocks, particularly on gaps in them. This causes rock particles to become dislodged and removed. It is sometimes said to be the same as wave pounding

78
Q

What is corrosion?

A

The dissolving of rock and sediment by chemicals, mainly weak acids, in the sea water. This process is more effective in warmer waters. There is some overlap with chemical weathering processes here

79
Q

What is cavitation?

A

The collapse of bubbles that have formed within moving water, releasing energy that exerts a force against rock rather like hammer blows.

Linked to wave quarrying as it can leave to removing rock particles

80
Q

What is attrition?

A

The erosion of material being transported by the sea, making it smaller and more rounded, as a result of the collision with, or the pounding of particles against, other material

81
Q

What is transport?

A

The carrying of eroded particles from one location to another

82
Q

What is detachment?

A

The separation of particles from the parent material

83
Q

What is entrainment?

A

The picking up of eroded particles to enable transportation to take place

84
Q

What are marine processes?

A

Caused by the waves from the sea wearing down the cliff foot

85
Q

What are sub-aerial processes?

A

Caused by the action of the weather on the cliff face. Can change the shape of the coast without moving material

Geography (16 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2024 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions