Component 2 : Coastal change and conflict

Question 1

Name an example of a soft rock landscape

Answer 1

An example of a soft rock landscape includes bays

Question 2

Name examples of hard rock landscapes

Answer 2

Examples of hard rock landscapes include:

• Wave cut platforms
• Headlands (where caves, arches and stacks are formed)

Question 3

What are the features of hard rock landscapes?

Answer 3

Hard rock landscapes are high, steep and rugged

Question 4

What are concordant coasts?

Answer 4

Concordant coasts are made up of the same rock type, parallel to the sea

Question 5

What are discordant coasts?

Answer 5

Discordant coasts are where rocks alternate in layers perpendicular to the sea, forming headlands and bays

Question 6

What factors affect the rate of erosion?

Answer 6

Factors that affect the rate of erosion include :

• Geological structure
• Wave climate (how powerful waves are, wave direction, wave height, fetch)
• Local currents and tidal range
• Groundwater levels

Question 7

How are headlands and bays formed?

Answer 7

Bays are formed from when water erodes the soft rock in the cliff, and bays are formed from the hard rock which stick out due to not being able to be eroded

Question 8

How are caves, arches and stacks formed?

Answer 8

Caves, arches and stacks are formed from when hydraulic action exerts into a crack in a cliff, causing the rock to be eroded and become a cave, until the back collapses and becomes an arch, which eventually becomes a stack then falls into a stump

Question 9

How are wave-cut platforms formed?

Answer 9

Wave-cut platforms are formed from when waves erode wave-cut notches and cause rocks that were recently overhanging to collapse and cliffs to retreat

Question 10

What is hydraulic action?

Answer 10

Hydraulic action is when water and air exert itself into rocks, building up pressure and causing it to break apart

Question 11

What is abrasion?

Answer 11

Abrasion is when the rocks scrape along the seabed

Question 12

What is attrition?

Answer 12

Attrition is when rocks knock into each other, causing them to become smaller and more rounded

Question 13

What is solution?

Answer 13

Solution is a chemical action by seawater on some rocks, especially limestone

Question 14

What are three impacts of UK climate on coastal erosion?

Answer 14

Three impacts of UK climate erosion include :

• The four seasons (eg freeze-thaw in the winter)
• Prevailing winds (brings warm moist air and rainfall leading to weathering and mass movement)
• Storm frequency (increased eroding power in waves)

Question 15

What are the three types of weathering in coastal erosion?

Answer 15

The three types of weathering involved in coastal erosion include mechanical weathering, biological weathering, chemical weathering

Question 16

What is freeze-thaw?

Answer 16

Freeze-thaw is when water in cracks in the rock expands, over time causing the crack to widen and pieces of rock to fall off. This is most common in cold climates.

Question 17

What is biological weathering?

Answer 17

Biological weathering is caused by plants and animals and its action speeds up mechanical or chemical weathering

Question 18

What is chemical weathering?

Answer 18

Chemical weathering happens when the rock’s mineral composition is changed

Question 19

What is mass movement?

Answer 19

Mass movement is the downhill movement of material under the influence of gravity

Question 20

When does deposition occur?

Answer 20

Deposition occurs when there is shallow water, in sheltered areas and where there is good supply of material

Question 21

What are the human factors that affect coastal areas?

Answer 21

Human factors that affect coastal areas include development, industry, agriculture, tourism and infrastructure

Question 22

What are the advantages of sea walls?

Answer 22

The advantages of sea walls are that they protect the base of cliffs, made of resistant concrete, if ‘recurved’, It reflects the energy

Question 23

What are the disadvantages of sea walls?

Answer 23

The disadvantages of sea walls is that they are expensive, restricts beach access and are unsightly

Question 24

What are the advantages of groynes?

Answer 24

The benefits of groynes is that they build a wide beach, and the wide beach attracts tourists

Question 25

What are the disadvantages of groynes?

Answer 25

The disadvantages of groynes is that they require high maintenance as wood rots, sand prevents from moving so can cause erosion further along the coast

Question 26

What are the advantages of beach replenishment?

Answer 26

The advantages of beach replenishment is that they look natural and attracts tourists as well as being cheap

Question 27

What are the disadvantages of beach replenishment?

Answer 27

The disadvantages of bleach replenishment is that material is easily transported away and replacement sediment is needed regularly

Question 28

What are the advantages of slope stabilisation?

Answer 28

The advantages of slope stabilisation is that they prevent mass movement, keeps cliff in place and are safer for people on the beach

Question 29

What are the disadvantages of slope stabilisation?

Answer 29

The disadvantage of slope stabilisation is that it is difficult to instal and is costly

Question 30

What is the evidence of past processes of erosion?

Answer 30

The evidence of past processes of erosion include:

• Geology
• Tectonics
• Glaciation

Question 31

How can we use geology as evidence of past erosion processes?

Answer 31

Geology - fossils in rocks show what the landscape was like historically eg limestone was formed by the compaction of skeletons if marine organisms

Question 32

How can we use tectonics as evidence of past erosion processes?

Answer 32

Tectonics - 300 million years ago plate movement affected the land - the plate the UK sits on moved away from the tropics causing land to cause faults and raise land

Question 33

How can we use glaciation as evidence of past erosion processes?

Answer 33

Glaciation - Glaciers of the most recent Ice Age caused river valleys to not only deepened but widen too

Question 34

What are the human activities which affected upland landscapes?

Answer 34

Human activities of the past that affected upland landscapes include:

• limestone and stocks left by glaciers made good building stones for Norse farmers
• Land cleared for farming

Question 35

What physical processes affect upland and lowland landscapes?

Answer 35

Chemical/Biological/Mechanical weathering and mass movement affected lowland and upland landscapes

Question 36

What past human activity affected lowland landscapes?

Answer 36

Past human activity which affected lowland landscapes include:

• Fertile soil is used for farming due to geology
• Hard crystalline from chalk was used as a building material