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Geography > Coasts > Flashcards

Coasts Flashcards

1
Q

waves

A

water that is created into waves through friction from prevailing winds

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2
Q

backwash

A

waves as they go back from the beach at a 90* angle

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3
Q

swash

A

waves as they go onto the beach

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4
Q

fetch

A

the distance of sea between one land form and the next

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5
Q

constructive wave

A

builds up beaches and has a strong swash and weak backwash to bring sediment onto the beach, it is low energy

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6
Q

destructive wave

A

destroys beaches and has a strong backwash and weak swash to carry sediment away, it is high energy

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7
Q

breaking wave

A

where the height reaches the critical level and where the water piles over the top because the momentum is built up and then stopped by friction which makes it break

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8
Q

mechanical weathering

A

the disintegration of rocks, where this happens there will be piles of rocks by the cliff

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9
Q

freeze thaw

A

when water gets into cracks in the rocks then freezes which means the water expands making the crack bigger, this repeats until the rock breaks apart

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10
Q

salt weathering

A

sea water contains salt, when this evaporates it leaves the salt crystals behind which grow and expand putting pressure on the rock and making it flake away

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11
Q

chemical weathering

A

where acid rain corrodes the alkali rock

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12
Q

carbonation

A

an example of chemical weathering, dissolved co2 from the atmosphere makes rainwater slightly acidic which dissolves the alkali rocks

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13
Q

biological weathering

A

due to actions of flora and fauna such as plant roots growing in cracks and animals burrowing in the holes

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14
Q

weathering

A

the earring away of rock without it being removed

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15
Q

mass movement

A

the downward movement of sliding of material under the influence of gravity

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16
Q

rock fall

A

fragments of rock break away from the cliff face, often from freeze thaw, fast and dry

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17
Q

landslide

A

blocks of rock slide down the hill, slow and dry

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18
Q

mudflow

A

saturated soil and weak rock flow down a slope, fast and wet

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19
Q

rotational slides

A

slump of saturated soil and weak rock along a curved slip plain

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20
Q

erosion

A

wearing away of rock and being taken away, high energy

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21
Q

hydraulic action

A

the motion of air being forced into cracks by waves which then forces the cracks to grow

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22
Q

abrasion

A

the rocks are carried and rub against the cliff like sandpaper

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23
Q

corrasion

A

rocks are carried and thrown at the cliff which gouges out holes

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24
Q

solution/corrosion

A

soluble chemicals are dissolved

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25
Q

attrition

A

the rocks knock against each other as they are transported which makes them smaller and smoother/rounder

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26
Q

cavitation

A

explosive force of air in the crack

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27
Q

transportation

A

how the rocks are carried, normally high energy

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28
Q

traction

A

rolling the rocks

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29
Q

saltation

A

bouncing

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30
Q

suspension

A

carried along on top

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31
Q

solution

A

dissolved in the water

32
Q

deposition

A

when the load is put down, requires little to no energy

33
Q

longshore drift

A

the movement of sediment along the coastline due to the swash at an angle and backwash at 90* to the beach

34
Q

wave refraction

A

friction with the sea bed makes the waves refract so the energy is concentrated on headlands and reduced around bays

35
Q

landform

A

feature on the earths surface that is part of the terrain

36
Q

resistant rock

A

rock that erodes slower such as chalk, also known as hard rock

37
Q

geological structure

A

the result of powerful tectonic forces, and the plates moving

38
Q

relief

A

the difference between the highest and lowest elevations in the area

39
Q

concordant coastline

A

where the bands of rock are parallel to the coastline

40
Q

discordant coastline

A

where the bands of rock are perpendicular to the coastline

41
Q

faults

A

a fracture in rock where there has been movement and displacement such as between two different tectonic plates

42
Q

headlands

A

on a discordant coastline where an area of hard rock sticks out because it has been slower to erode

43
Q

bays

A

on a discordant coastline where an area of soft rock has been eroded quicker so forms a beach or sheltered land that we call a bay

44
Q

cliffs

A

a sheer drop of rock formed when rock has been eroded away

45
Q

wave cut platform

A

the narrow flat area often found at the base of a sea cliff that was created by the erosion of waves

46
Q

cave

A

when rock is eroded on a headland it can create a cave

47
Q

arches

A

these are caves that have been eroded further and go all the way through the headland

48
Q

stacks

A

when the arch collapses a stack of rock is left

49
Q

stumps

A

when the stack is eroded further you end up with a stump of rock which will eventually be eroded into nothing

50
Q

beaches

A

areas in bays or on the coastline where sediment has been deposited

51
Q

sand dunes

A

hill of loose sand build up by the wind carrying the sediment and depositing it

52
Q

spits

A

an extended area of beach material that only joins the mainland at one end. it is the continuation of longshore drift

53
Q

salt marsh

A

formed in the sheltered area behind the spit it is created when silt is deposited as there aren’t any waves to carry it away

54
Q

swash zone

A

the zone of wave action on the beach

55
Q

pioneer plant

A

species that are the first to colonise disrupted ecosystems and stabilise the ground so that other plants can grow

56
Q

embryo dune

A

1) the smallest dune at the first row after the sea where only pioneer plants can grow

57
Q

fore dune

A

2) slightly bigger than embryo with some organic matter (humus)

58
Q

yellow dune

A

3) larger than a fore dune it starts to hold more life from the humus like heather

59
Q

grey dune

A

4) even bigger than a yellow dune marram grass can grow and trap the sand in the long roots

60
Q

mature dune

A

5) the dunes are fully stabilised and can grow more organic matter and a lower salt content so larger species like elm trees can grow

61
Q

dune slack

A

areas between the dunes which are sheltered so water sometimes settles here

62
Q

recurved tip

A

occurs at the end of a spit where the wind direction changes slightly and makes the sediment deposition happen in a different direction which curves it

63
Q

longshore bar

A

where the spit continues across to block off the whole of the bay

64
Q

surf zone

A

area affected by the waves

65
Q

updrift

A

from direction of wind

66
Q

downdrift

A

where the wind is going to

67
Q

tombolo

A

a spit that connects an island to the mainland

68
Q

hard engineering

A

management strategies to protect the coastline that involve bringing something new onto the beach that is man made such as gab ions, sea walls, groins and rock armour often more expensive than soft engineering

69
Q

soft engineering

A

management strategies to protect the coastline that have less of an impact on the environment and are more natural such as managed retreat, beach reprofiling, beach nourishment and dune regeneration cheaper

70
Q

managed retreat

A

allowing a section of land to flood so that other areas don’t, these can be recreational grounds but can cause conflict

71
Q

groynes

A

barriers that capture the sediment that is transported through longshore drift so the beach is widened which protects the cliffs, they are cheap but deprive other beaches of sediment and are easily destroyed

72
Q

sea wall

A

very expensive concrete wall that takes the waves force and has a curved face to reflect them, it acts as a flood barrier but needs maintaining and can destroy the beach by creating a strong backwash

73
Q

rock armour/ rip rap

A

rocks placed on a beach which force the waves to break and absorb their energy which protects the cliffs needs to be replaced but isn’t too expensive

74
Q

gabions

A

cages of rock that absorb the waves energy, cheap and efficient but have a short lifespan

75
Q

reprofiling

A

changing the beaches slope which changes the rate of erosion, very easy and adaptable but can damage ecosystems and has to be retouched regularly

76
Q

beach nourishment

A

works with natural processes adding sediment to the beach and sea floor, creates wider beaches but can kill moronisms and very expensive in the long run

77
Q

dune regeneration

A

artificially creating new dunes to act as a buffer which absorb storm and wave energy but could be threatened by human activity

Geography (10 decks)

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