costal landscapes and processes Flashcards
What is abrasion?
A form of erosion where loose material, pebbles and sediment ‘sandpaper’ the walls and floors of a river, cliff or glacier.
What is attrition?
Rocks and pebbles continuously hit against each other, causing them to break into smaller rocks until they become sediment.
What is backshore?
The upper beach closest to the land, including any cliffs or sand dunes.
What is beach nourishment?
The addition of sand and sediment to an eroding beach by humans. The new material will be eroded by the sea which saves the cliffs or sand dunes from erosion and recession.
What is biological weathering?
Rocks are broken apart by growing vegetation and roots, microbes, or chemical reactions from animal faeces. This erodes the rock face.
What is a concordant coast?
A coastline where bands of alternate geology run parallel to the coast.
What is corrasion?
A form of mechanical erosion where material and sediment in the sea is flung at the cliff-face. As the waves break against it, the rock making up the cliff-face is broken.
What is chemical weathering?
The weak acid in rainwater dissolves chemical compounds in the rock.
What is a discordant coast?
A coastline where bands of alternate geology run perpendicular to the shore.
What is fetch?
The length of water over which the wind has travelled.
What is freeze thaw?
A form of physical sub-aerial weathering where water freezes in the cracks of a rock, expands and enlarges the crack. This weakens the rock overtime leaving it more open to erosion.
What is geology?
The physical structure and arrangement of a rock.
What is a groyne?
A form of hard-engineering. Low-lying concrete or wooden walls, constructed perpendicular to the seafront and run out to sea. They encourage the trapping of sediment to reduce erosion caused by longshore drift or by winds.
What is hard management?
The use of concrete structures to reduce or halt the recession of a coastline. Includes: Groynes, Sea Walls, Rock Armour.
What are highlands?
An area of land that is at a high elevation and tends to have a larger relief.
