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A-Level Geography > Coasts > Flashcards

Coasts Flashcards

1
Q

What is the littoral zone?

A

The boundary between the land and the sea

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2
Q

Why is the littoral zone dynamic?

A

Because the boundary moves depending on the tide, and sea level change

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3
Q

Define the back shore?

A

The area above the waves’ influence

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4
Q

Define the nearshore

A

The area where waves break

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5
Q

Define the offshore

A

The area out at sea beyond the waves’ influence

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6
Q

What short-term criteria classify coastlines?

A

River discharge, high/low tide, weather

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7
Q

What long-term criteria classify coastlines?

A

Geology, sea-level change, high/low energy, rate of erosion

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8
Q

What kind of landforms do high-energy coasts form?

A

Rocky landforms

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9
Q

Where do high-energy coasts occur?

A

Where there is a long fetch

Where erosion > deposition

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10
Q

What kind of rocks are resistant, and erode slower?

A

Igneous

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11
Q

What three factors erode the coast?

A

Sea, rain, wind

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12
Q

What are coastal plain landscapes formed from?

A

Weaker, younger, sedimentary rock

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13
Q

What feeds coastal plains?

A

Sediment from river discharge; ocean deposition

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14
Q

Describe concordant coasts

A

“Bands” of rock types parallel to the coast. This forms “smooth” coastlines or Dalmatian coasts

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15
Q

Describe discordant coasts

A

“Bands” of rock types perpendicular to the coast. Soft rock erodes quicker, forming headlands and bays

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16
Q

How do coves form?

A

A band of hard rock is eroded through, and the soft rock behind it starts to erode much quicker

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17
Q

How does a Dalmatian coast form?

A

Sea-level rise fills in the concordant valleys between ridges

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18
Q

Define strata

A

Layers of rock

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19
Q

Define bedding planes

A

Horizontal cracks/gaps, caused by time differences in when rocks formed

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20
Q

Define joints/fractures

A

Vertical cracks caused by movements in the earth

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21
Q

Define folds

A

Rocks buckle and crumple due to tectonic activity

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22
Q

Define faults

A

A rock fractures, then slips along the fault plane

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23
Q

Define dip

A

The angle of the strata

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24
Q

What is the order of coastal plant succession?

A

Embryo, fore-, yellow, grey, dune slack, woodland

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25
What are colonising coastal plants called?
Pioneer species
26
How do pioneer species help plant succession?
They bind sand/soil, and add nutrients when they decay, allowing larger plants to grow
27
What kind of plants are found at yellow dunes?
Marram grass
28
What kind of plants are found at grey dunes?
Low shrubs
29
What kind of plants succeed pioneer species?
Invader species
30
What is the peak of a coastal ecosystem called?
Climatic climax community
31
What are the characteristics of a constructive wave?
Low waves, long wavelength Strong swash, weak backwash Beach gain Wave energy absorbed by beach
32
What are the characteristics of a destructive wave?
High waves, short wavelength Weak swash, strong backwash Beach loss Wave energy NOT absorbed; attacks the cliff face
33
Why does beach morphology change with wave type?
They are made of loose material; sand
34
When is sediment removed from beaches?
Winter
35
What are the characteristics of winter at a coast?
Storms and destructive waves
36
What wave type characterises summer at a coast?
Constructive waves
37
When is sediment returned to beaches?
Summer
38
Explain what season the beach profile is steepest
Summer, as sediment is deposited into a berm
39
Define abrasion
Sediment/rocks are thrown at the cliff base, eroding it
40
Define hydraulic action
Water trapped in cracks increases pressure, air expands when it subsides. This repeated process causes erosion
41
Define corrosion
Rock made of alkaline rock dissolves in slightly-acidic seawater
42
Define attrition
Rock particles erode each-other in water
43
What are the four types of erosion at coasts?
Abrasion, hydraulic action, corrosion, attirition
44
What is the progression of erosional landforms at coasts?
Wave-cut notch → shoreline platform | Wave-cut notch → cave → arch → stack → stump
45
How are joints and faults eroded?
Hydraulic action and abrasion
46
How does longshore drift happen?
Waves act on the beach at angle, moving sediment in the direction of the prevailing wind
47
How does a spit form?
Sand and shingle build up past a 'bend' in the coast
48
How does a spit become recurved?
Wave refraction carries sediment around the bend
49
How is a beach formed?
Waves swash and longshore drift
50
How are offshore bars formed?
Backwashed sediment is deposited offshore
51
What is a barrier beach?
A spit that connects two headlands
52
How is a tombolo formed?
Waves travelling between two lands lose energy, depositing sediment that forms a joining beach
53
How does a cuspate foreland form?
Longshore drift in different directions causes a triangle of deposition. Marshland may grow behind it
54
How many sediment cells are in England and Wales?
11
55
What is terminal groyne syndrome?
Groynes prevent longshore drift from bringing sediment further downdrift
56
What are examples of soft engineering?
Beach nourishment, cliff regrading, dune stabilisation
57
What are the subaerial processes?
Mass movement, weathering
58
What are the mechanical weathering processes?
Freeze-thaw, salt crystallisation, wetting and drying
59
Describe freeze-thaw weathering
Water in cracked rock freezes. It expands 10%. The repeated action puts pressure on the rocks until the rock breaks. The fragments accumulate at the base of the cliff as scree
60
Describe salt crystallisation
Salt crystals deposited in cracks accumulate and apply pressure to the rock
61
Describe wetting and drying
Clay-rich rocks expand when wet and contract when dry. This results in cracks for other weathering
62
Describe chemical weathering
Rainwater + CO2 in atmosphere forms Carbonic acid. | This reacts with calcium carbonate in limestone to form calcium bicarbonate, which is soluble in water
63
What is the 'role' of weathering?
To weaken cliffs, speeding up the rates of erosion.
64
What is the rate of soil creep?
1cm / year
65
Describe soil creep
The sum of many small, discrete movements of slope material caused by gravity
66
Where are landslides most common?
On a weakened, saturated slope
67
Describe slumping
Unconsolidated material slides down on itself at slip planes
68
What is rockfall?
Loose rock falls down the cliff
69
Where is the Dalmatian Coast?
Croatia
70
Describe a horizontal cliff profile
Strata/bedding planes lay horizontal. | The causes a steep cliff
71
Describe a seaward-dipping cliff profile
Strata/bedding planes point down towards the sea | Loose material can fall, making cliff unstable
72
Describe a landward-dipping cliff profile
Strata/bedding planes point up towards the sky | Can be quite steep but stable
73
What is the erosion rate of igneous rock?
0.1 cm / year
74
What is the erosion rate of metamorphic rock?
0.3 cm / year
75
What is the erosion rate of sedimentary rock?
0.5 - 10 cm / year
76
Describe the structure of igneous rock
Few joints, less weaknesses
77
Describe the structure of sedimentary rock
Many bedding planes and fractures
78
What is eustatic sea level change?
The sea level changing
79
What is isostatic sea level change?
The land level changing
80
What might cause isostatic sea level change?
Glacial rebound
81
Define glacial rebound
The rise of land masses that were depressed by the weight of glaciers
82
What are the characteristics of an emergent coast?
Raised beaches, relic/fossil cliffs, fossil stump
83
What is a fossil cliff?
A raised cliff that no longer touches the sea, exposing fossils
84
What is a ria?
A submerged, unglaciated river valley filled with seawater
85
What is a fjord?
A submerged, glaciated river valley filled with seawater
86
What is a barrier island?
An island formed by submergent concordant coasts | e.g Dalmatian Coast
87
What causes contemporary sea level change?
Global warming - melting polar ice cap | Thermal expansion - water takes up greater volume
88
How much of contemporary sea level change is due to thermal expansion?
1.1 mm / year
89
What proportion of contemporary sea level change is due to melting ice?
About two-thirds
90
What is the rate of contemporary sea level change?
3.2 mm / year
91
What is the name of holistic coastal management?
ICZM | Intercoastal Zone Management
92
What is cliff regrading?
Reducing the angle of a cliff to increase stability
93
When do rocky coasts form?
From resistant geology, in a high-energy environment
94
When do coastal plains form?
Near low-relief areas, from the supply of sediment from terrestrial and offshore sources In low-energy environments
95
What landform does rotational slumping form?
Rotational scar
96
What is scree?
Collection of rock fragments at the base of cliffs
97
What landform does rockfall form?
Talus scree slopes
98
What can cause terraced cliff profile?
Mass movement or isostatic sea level change
99
What is a terraced cliff profile?
A cliff with a step-like shape
100
What uncertainties are there about the increasing coastal flood risk?
Pace and magnitude of this change

A-Level Geography (14 decks)

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