Costal systems and landscapes

Question 1

Abrasion

Answer 1

A form of erosion where loose material ‘sandpapers’ the walls and floors of the river, cliff or glacier.

Question 2

Backshore

Answer 2

The upper beach closest to the land, including any cliffs or sand dunes.

Question 3

Beach Morphology

Answer 3

The surface shape of the beach

Question 4

Coastal recession

Answer 4

The retreat of a coastline due to erosion, sea-level rise or submergence.

Question 5

Concordant coast

Answer 5

A coastline where bands of alternate geology run parallel to the coast.

Question 6

Dalmation coast

Answer 6

A concordant coastline with several river valleys running perpendicular to the coast. They become flooded to produce long islands and long inlets.

Question 7

DEFRA’s 1:1 cost-benefit analysis

Answer 7

the evaluation of a coastal town’s economic value compared to the coast of the management required.

Question 8

Discordant coast

Answer 8

A coastline where bands of alternate geology run perpendicular to the shore

Question 9

dynamic equilibrium

Answer 9

where a natural system tries to achieve a balance by making constant changes in response to a constantly changing system.

Question 10

Emergent coast

Answer 10

A coastline that is advancing relative to the sea level at the time

Question 11

eustatic

Answer 11

global changes to sea levels

Question 12

foreshore

Answer 12

the lower part of the beach covered twice a day at high tide (the part of the beach that receives the most regular wave action)

Question 13

freeze thaw

Answer 13

a form of physical sub-aerial weathering where water freezes in the cracks of a rock, expands and enlarges the crack, therefore weakens the rock

Question 14

geology

Answer 14

the structure and arrangement of a rock

Question 15

glacial erosion

Answer 15

the removal of loose material by glacier ice, involving plucking, abrasion, crushing and basal meltwater

Question 16

high energy environment

Answer 16

a coast where wave action is predominantly large destructive waves, causing much erosion

Question 17

isostatic

Answer 17

a change in local coastline or land height relative to the sea level

Question 18

littoral cell

Answer 18

a section of the coast, within which involves much sediment movement. A littoral cell is not a closed system.

Question 19

plant succession

Answer 19

change to a plant community due to growing conditions adapting (e.g., sand dunes and salt marshes)

Question 20

subaerial processes

Answer 20

the combination of mass movement and weatherig that affects the coastal land above sea

Question 21

submergent coast

Answer 21

a coast that is sinking relative to the sea level at the time

Question 22

till

Answer 22

deposits of angular rock fragments in a finer medium

Question 23

corrasion

Answer 23

A form of erosion when breaking waves fling material (rocks, sediment, shells. etc) at
a cliff face, physically knocking off material.

Question 24

corrosion

Answer 24

The acid in seawater and some types of seaweed attacks particular rock minerals,
causing erosion and weakening.

Question 25

fetch

Answer 25

The distance the wave travels before it reaches the coastline. Distance to the nearest land
mass in the direction in which the wave travels.

Question 26

fjord

Answer 26

Long narrow inlet deeper in the middle section than at the mouth, created when sea levels
rise relative to the land, flooding coastal glacial valleys.

Question 27

hydraulic action

Answer 27

The pressure of compressed air forced into cracks in a rock face will cause the
rock to weaken and break apart.

Question 28

Integrated coastal zone managment (ICZM)

Answer 28

Large sections of coastline (often sediment cells) are managed with one integrated strategy and management occurs between different political boundaries.

Question 29

longshore drift

Answer 29

The transportation of sediment along a beach. Longshore Drift is determined by
the direction of the prevailing wind.

Question 30

low-energy environment

Answer 30

A coast where wave action is predominantly small constructive waves, causing deposition and leading to beach accretion.

Question 31

mass movement

Answer 31

The falling or movement of rock, often due to Gravity

Question 32

nearshore

Answer 32

The area before the shore where the wave steepness and breaks before they reach
the shore and then reform before breaking on the beach. It extends from the low-tide zone and then out to sea.

Question 33

ria

Answer 33

Narrow winding inlet which is deepest at the mouth, formed when sea levels rise causing
coastal valleys to flood.

Question 34

saltation

Answer 34

Smaller sediment bounces along the sea bed, being pushed by currents.The sediment
is too heavy to be picked up by the flow of the water.

Question 35

sediment cell

Answer 35

Sections of the coast bordered by prominent headlands. Within these sections,
the movement of sediment is almost contained and the flows of sediment should act in dynamic equilibrium.

Question 36

sediment budget

Answer 36

Use data of inputs, outputs, stores and transfers to assess the gains and
losses of sediment within a sediment cell.

Question 37

SMP

Answer 37

Identifies all of the activities, both natural and human which occur within the coastline area
of each sediment cell and then recommends a combination of four actions for each stretch of that coastline: Hold the Line, Advance the Line, Managed Realignment and No Active Intervention.

Question 38

wave quarrying

Answer 38

When air is trapped and compressed against a cliff which causes rock
fragments to break off the cliff over time.