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A Level Physical Geography > Coasts 2.1-2.4 > Flashcards

Coasts 2.1-2.4 Flashcards

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1
Q

Littoral zone

A

The highest sea level line to shallow offshore water

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2
Q

littoral zones (cells) in the UK

A

11 littoral zones

It is a closed system

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3
Q

How many worldwide live near coasts

A

Half the world’s population live within 200km of the coast

And 1 billion that live on the coast are at risk from flooding

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4
Q

Dynamic equilibrium

A

Inputs and outputs are balanced due to natural processes and interactions in it

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5
Q

Inputs in the coastal system

A

Marine - wave, tides, storm surges
Atmospheric - weather/climate
Land - rocks, tectonics
People - human activity and coastal management

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6
Q

Processes in the coastal system

A 
Weathering
Mass movement
Erosion
Transport
Deposition
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7
Q

Outputs in the coastal system

A

Erosional landforms
Depositional landforms
Different types of coasts

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8
Q

Resistant rocky coastlines

A

Southwest of the UK
Can withstand Frequent winter storms
Not beaches

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9
Q

Coastal plains

A

Aka alluvial coasts
Waves are usually less powerful
Deposition exceeds erosion

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10
Q

Marine processes

A

Processes associated with the actions of waves

Erosion, transportation, deposition

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11
Q

Sub aerial processes

A

The processes of weathering and mass movement

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12
Q

Geology

A

The physical structure of rocks

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13
Q

4 types of transportation

A

Traction
Saltation
Suspension
Solution

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14
Q

Traction

A

Large boulders rolled along the seabed

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15
Q

Saltation

A

Pebble sized particles bounced along the seabed

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16
Q

Suspension

A

Small particles are carried in water

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17
Q

Solution

A

The dissolved material is carried in water

OR minerals in a rock dissolve under acidic conditions

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18
Q

The 3 types of erosion

A

Hydraulic
Abrasion
Attrition

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19
Q

Hydraulic action

A

Waves crash against the rock trapping air in the cracks and repeatedly shattering pieces off

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20
Q

Abrasion

A

Eroded sediment in the water scrapes against the rock removing small pieces

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21
Q

Attrition

A

Eroded sediment crash into each other

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22
Q

3 places deposition happens

A

In low energy zones
When water slows down
In bays

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23
Q

Constructive waves

A 
Small height, long length
Spilling
Strong swash 
Weak backwash
Build up beach
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24
Q

Destructive waves

A 
Tall waves
Short length
Plunging
Weak swash
Strong backwash
Destroy the beach
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25
Q

Hard engineering of coasts

A

Sea walls
Groynes
Gabions

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26
Q

Hard engineering Sea walls

A

Concrete walls curved to reflect energy back to sea
+ effective, give locals a promenade
- very expensive at £2000 a metre, can be eroded

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27
Q

Hard engineering Gabions

A

Rocks held in mesh cages for areas of erosion
+ cheap at £100 a metre, absorbs wave energy
- not strong and looks unnatural

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28
Q

Hard engineering Gabions

A

Wooden or rock structures at right angles to the sea
+they build up a beach with longshore drift
- starves beaches further down the coastline

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29
Q

Waves vs tide

A

Created by wind vs created by gravitational pull of the moon

They are unpredictable because wind is always changing vs they are predictable from moon’s orbit

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30
Q

Backshore area

A

This area experiences mainly physical processes

It is only affected by waves in very high tides and strong winds

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31
Q

Foreshore area

A

Aka swash zone
Waves break between high and low tide
This is where the beach is

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32
Q

Nearshore area

A

In the shallow water there is intense human activity and sediment is transferred by these currents

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33
Q

Estuarine coastlines

A

Found at the mouths of rivers
Extensive mud flats cut by channels
Exposed at low tide but inundates at high tide
At the backshore mud flats area vegetated - this forms a salt marsh

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34
Q

What is a rocky or sandy coast influenced by

A

Mainly influenced by geology and processes in the littoral zone

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35
Q

What is an emerging/submerging coastline determined by

A

It is determined by sea level change and tectonic uplift

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36
Q

3 things that affect erosion resistance

A

How reactive the minerals in the rock are
How many cracks, fractures, weaknesses the rock has
If the rocks are clastic

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37
Q

Scotland coastline case study

A

Scotland is still bouncing back, creating raised beaches
This is because it used to have a glacier weighing it down
This has meant the south coast of the UK is sinking in order to ‘even out’

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38
Q

Isostatic

A

The land moving relative to sea level
Effects are LOCAL
Eg. Glaciers pushing down or accumulation of sediment

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39
Q

Eustatic

A

The sea level itself is changing which affects the land
Effects are almost always GLOBAL
Eg. Climate change melting ice sheets and increasing sea level

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40
Q

Lithology

A 
Strata
Bedding planes
Joints
Folds
Faults
Dip
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41
Q

Horizontal strata

A

Produces steep cliffs

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42
Q

Rocks dip gently towards the sea

A

Almost vertical joints

Joints opened by weathering and pressure release

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43
Q

Steep dip towards the sea

A

Rock slabs slide down the cliff along bedding planes

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44
Q

Rocks dip inland

A

Well developed joints at right angles to bedding planes

Joints act as slide planes

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45
Q

Discordant coasts

A

Bands of more and less resistant rock run at right angles to the coast
More resistant rocks emerge at the coast as headlands and cliffs
Less resistant rocks form bays

46
Q

Concordant coasts

A

More and less resistant rocks run parallel to the coast

47
Q

Igneous rocks

A

Eg granite
Crystalline
Resistant
Impermeable

48
Q

Sedimentary rocks

A

Formed in strata (layers)
Sandstone and limestone are permeable
Chalk is porous

49
Q

Emergent coastlines

A

They are being produced by post glacial adjustment

Parts of the littoral zone where a fall in sea level exposed land once part of the sea bed

50
Q

Landforms of emergent coastlines

A

Raised beach
-usually vegetated, flat surface covered by sand or pebbles

Fossil cliff

  • sleep slope at the hack of a raised beach
  • wave cut notches, caves, arches - marine erosion
51
Q

Submergent coastlines

A

Sections of the littoral zone that have been flooded by ocean waters because of a relative rise in the elevation of sea level there

52
Q

Features of submergent coastlines

A

River or glacially carved valley
Ria
Fjord
Dalmatian coastlines

53
Q

Ria

A

A river valley at the coast that has been drowned by the sea

54
Q

Fjord

A

A glaciated valley inundated by the sea

55
Q

Dalmatian coastline

A

A series of longitudinal river valleys next to the coast that have been inundated
Anticlines and sinklines

56
Q

Strata

A

Different layers of rock in an area and how they relate to each other

57
Q

Deformation

A

The degree by which rock units have been deformed by tectonic activity

58
Q

Faulting

A

The presence of major fractures that have moved rocks from their original positions

59
Q

Lulworth cove formation

A

On a concordant coastline in Dorset, marine erosion broke through the resistant bed and rapidly eroded the wide cove behind
At the back of the cove is a bay and resistant rock which prevents further erosion

60
Q

Why are headlands eroded more than bays

A

In deep water waves are parallel to one another
As waves approach shallow water offshore of a headland they slow down and wave height increases
In bays wave crests curve to fill the bay - wave height decreases
The straight wave crests refract, become curved, spread out in bays but concentrate on headlands
The overall effect concentrates powerful waves at headlands but lower wave crests in bays

61
Q

Features found at a discordant coastline

A

Headlands and bays
Detached islands
Caves arches stacks stumps

62
Q

Features found at a concordant coastline

A

Coves
Dalmatian coastlines
Half coastlines

63
Q

Holocene period

A

Began 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age

Early stages marked by sea level rise of 35m and a warming climate

64
Q

Dalmatian coast

A

An area is folded by tectonic activity into a series of anticlines and sync lines that run parallel to the coastline
The synclines have been drowned by rising sea levels - so there is a concordant coastline of long, narrow islands arranged in lines offshore

65
Q

Dalmatian coast case study

A

Croatia
Drowned by sea level rise during the Holocene
Its geology is limestone (sedimentary)

66
Q

Anticline

A

A ridge/bump of stratified rock

67
Q

Syncline

A

A downward arc/fold of a rock layer

68
Q

Haff coastline

A

Long sediment ridges that run parallel to the coast just offshore
Haffs created between the ridges and the shore
(This sediment was deposited as glaciers retreated at the end of the last ice age)
Low energy coastlines

69
Q

Haff coastline case study

A

Southern fringes of the Baltic Sea

North Germany - Usedom

70
Q

Cliff profile define

A

The height, angle and features of a cliff

Eg. Dipped, faulted, towards or away from the sea

71
Q

The dip of rock strata

A

It is a tectonic feature, caused by plate movement

Horizontal layers in rocks can be tilted by tectonic forces

72
Q

2 dominant characteristics for cliff profiles

A

The resistance to erosion of the rock

The dip of rock strata in relation to the coastline

73
Q

Horizontal dip

A

Weak strata
Vertical or near vertical
More easily eroded

74
Q

Landward dip

A

Steep profiles of 70-80degrees

Very stable cliff with reduced rock fall

75
Q

High angle seaward dip

A

Sloping low angle profile
One rock layer faces the sea
Vulnerable to rocks sliding down the dip slope

76
Q

Low angle seaward dip

A

Profile may exceed 90degres
Areas of overhanging rock
Very vulnerable to rock falls

77
Q

3 Igneous rocks

A

Granite
Basalt
Dolerite

78
Q

3 metamorphic rocks

A

Slate
Schist
Marble

79
Q

3 sedimentary rocks

A

Sandstone
Limestone
Shale

80
Q

Erosion rate - Igneous

A

Very slow
Strong, hard, erosion resistant
Few weaknesses to exploit

81
Q

Erosion rate - Metamorphic

A

Slow
Resistant to erosion
But it has foliation and fractures

82
Q

Erosion rate - sedimentary

A

Moderate to fast
The clastic and younger rocks are fast
They have bedding places and fractures
They are permeable

83
Q

Diagram of the dunes

A
84
Q

Composite cliff

A

Has rock from different geological periods

85
Q

6 factors affecting rate of erosion

A 
Dip
Geology type
Geological structure
Sea level change
Human management 
Wave type
86
Q

Permeability and erosion

A

If a rock is permeable it allows water to flow through it
This water flow can weaken the layers of rock in the cliff by removing the cement that binds the layers together
So it makes erosion and recession more likely

87
Q

What is a sand dune

A

A hill structure made of sand above the high tide mark
It is shaped by wind action
Parts are covered in grasses and shrubs

88
Q

Where are coastal sand dunes found and why

A

They are found in drier countries where loose sand is blown by the wind in deserts and coasts
They need drier sand that is blown around often (not in tropical countries)

89
Q

Biotic/abiotic factors

A

Biotic are living factors like the plant communities

Abiotic are non living factors like the environment itself

90
Q

Psammosere

A

Aka succession

The way that the structure of sand dunes in a community develops over time

91
Q

Pioneer stage of sand dunes

A

Seeds are blown about in the wind/washed up
Rooting conditions are poor
Wind moves sand in the dunes, rainwater soaks through rapidly
Sand is trapped by vegetation etc

92
Q

Building stage of sand dunes

A

Plants trap sand and grow with it which binds it
Decaying pioneer plants make it fertile
The soil is less alkaline so less hardy plants grow
Stabilised by halophytic plants and roots
50-100 years

93
Q

Final stage of sand dunes

A

Taller and more complex plants grow
Earlier stages’ plant die out (competition)
Water table nearly reaches the surface leading to dune slacks with plants that are water tolerant

94
Q

Zonation

A

The variation of species or communities in and over an area

Eg. Salinity/height of water table leads to different species in different areas of the dune

95
Q

Why is the first zone of sand dunes inhospitable

A

The sand is salty, dry, unstable and it lacks nutrients

96
Q

Threats to sand dunes from people

A

Tourism and visitors to beaches
Climate change
Urbanisation of the coast (pedestrian and motorised pathways)
Introduction of invasive species

97
Q

Sand dune blowout

A

Erosional dune landforms - depressions

A hole is created in the surface of the dune

98
Q

Primary coasts

A

Dominated by land based processes
Eg deposition from rivers
Or new coastal land formed

99
Q

Secondary coasts

A

Dominated by marine erosion or deposition processes

100
Q

Marine erosion dominated

A

Steep face
Active undercutting
Limited cliff base debris

101
Q

Subaerial process dominated

A

Curved slope profile
Lower angle face
Accumulated debris

102
Q

Waves affecting beach morphology

A

Weather can determine wave type
Wave conditions can modify or create landforms
Types of sediment can be deposited or eroded
Removing debris from the cliff foot takes away the natural erosion barrier

103
Q

How are waves formed

A

They are caused by friction between wind and water
If the wind is sustained from deep to shallow water, this forms a wave
There is orbital water particle motion in open water
When this reaches shallow water, there is an increase in wave height because it is shallower and the friction slows the bottom of the wave

104
Q

4 things wave size depends on

A

The strength of the wind
The duration the wind blows for
Water depth
Wave fetch

105
Q

3 things that change beach profiles

A

Sediment supply from rivers may be reduced
Coastal management may interfere with sediment supply
Climate change making an area sotrmier

106
Q

Dune slacks

A

They result from blowout where erosion down to the water table has occurred
A large flat area of wet sand is exposed
The wind cannot pick up wet sand

107
Q

3 things necessary for sand dunes

A

A supply of sand
Winds that transport the sand inland
A large inter tidal range

108
Q

How does vegetation stabilise sediment

A

Roots make sediment bind together so it’s harder to erode
Plants provide a protective layer so the surface isn’t exposed
Friction with vegetation reduces the affect of wind speed

109
Q

Storm beaches

A

Result from high energy deposition of very coarse sediment in the most severe storms

110
Q

Berms

A

A result of shingle and gravel being deposited from summer swell waves

111
Q

Offshore ridges

A

Formed by destructive wave erosion then these depositing sand and material offshore

A Level Physical Geography (5 decks)

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