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geography (Coasts) > Diffrences in coastal landscapes and what processes are causing this? > Flashcards

Diffrences in coastal landscapes and what processes are causing this? Flashcards

1
Q

Are all coastlines the same?

A

Each coast line is a unique creation of ocean waves acting on the land with human management also shaping each and every coastline

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2
Q

What are the main types of coastlines

A
  • concordant and discordant coast
  • Emergent and submergent coastlines
  • High and low energy coastlines
  • resistant rock and coastal plain landscapes
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3
Q

What is the littoral zone
what are the different sections

A

Wider coastal zone including adjacent land areas and shallow parts of the sea just offshore

  • cliffs or dunes
  • Backshore
  • Foreshore
  • Nearshore
  • offshore
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4
Q

Explain what the sections of the littoral zone

A
  • Backshore - Usually above the influence of waves
  • Foreshore - Inter-tidal or surf zone (submerged between high + low tide)
  • Nearshore - breaker zones
  • Offshore - Beyond influence of waves
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5
Q

What are inputs on the coastline

A

Inputs - Marine ( waves, tides, storms surge )
- Atmospheric (weather /climate, climate change, solar energy)
- Land (rock type and structure, tectonic activity)
- People (Human activity, Coastal management)

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6
Q

What are the processes on the coastline

A
  • Weathering (wearing away of material)
  • Mass movement (Movement of surface material)
  • Erosion ( Wearing away of material)
  • Transport (movement of sediment)
  • Deposition (dropping off of sediment)
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7
Q

What are outputs on the coastline

A
  • Erosional / landform (arch, stack, stump, bay)
  • Depositional landform (spits, Tombolo’s, beaches)
  • Different types of coasts (rocky shores, sandy beaches, coral reefs, wetlands)
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8
Q

What is a high and low energy coast line

A

High - Coastlines have powerful waves therefore the rate of erosion is higher than the rate of deposition

Low - less powerful waves therefore the rate of deposition is higher than the rate of erosion

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9
Q

What is a Fetch

A

A fetch is open water that allows waves to build up energy

large fetch = more destructive waves as they have more energy that can be generated overtime

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10
Q

What are the
- Waves
- Processes
- Landforms
- General locations
- Example locations
on a low energy coastline

A
  • Waves - less powerful (conservative) waves, Calmer conditions, Short fetches
  • Processes - Deposition and transport, Sediments from rivers, longshore drifts and nearshore currents
  • Landforms - Beaches, splits, salt marshes, sand dunes etc
  • General location - Sheltered from large waves, Lowland coasts, coastal landscapes
  • Locations - Mediterranean sea
  • east Anglian coasts
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11
Q

What are the
- Waves
- Processes
- Landforms
- General locations
- Example locations
on a High energy coastline

A
  • Waves - More powerful (destructive) waves , Storm conditions, Long fetches
  • Processes - Erosion and transportation, Sediment from eroded land, mass movement and weathering, offshore currents
  • Landforms - Cliffs, wave-cut platforms, arches, caves and stacks
  • General location - Exposed to the largest waves, Rocky landscapes, Highland and lowland coasts
  • Location - Atlantic coasts of Scotland and Norway, pacific coasts of Alaska and Canada
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12
Q

What are the different types of rock and how are they created

A

sedimentary - Layers of sediment (dead animals and plants) being built up overtime
Igneous - Magma cooling turning into rock or lava cooling
Metamorphic - Igneous rock changing overtime due to heat and pressure

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13
Q

How do the rocks react against the high energy waves hitting them

A

Sedimentary - Weak and easily eroded
Igneous - Hard, erodes less easily
metamorphic - Hardest rock type, Hardest to erode

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14
Q

What is a concordant and discordant coastline

A

concordant - type of rock runs parallel to the coast

discordant - Rock runs at a right angle to the coastline

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15
Q

What is
Geological structure
Lithology
Geology

A

Geological structure - Refers to the arrangement of rock units
Lithology - Rock Type e.g. limestone, sandstones etc
Geology - Term used to refer to both geological structure and lithology

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16
Q

What are the different types of rock structure

A
  • Rock strata
  • Folds
  • Dips
  • Faults
  • Joints
  • Fissures
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17
Q

What is Rock strata

A

. Different layers of rock
. Depending on their erosion the rate of erosion can be increased
- Layers of rock next to each other
- Layers of rock on top of each other

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18
Q

What are folds in rock
and an example

A

. Bends in the rock produced via sedimentary rock being squeezed via pressure by tectonic forces
- Anticline folds (arch shaped)
- Syncline folds (trough shaped/dipped)
Causes weakening so erodes faster
e.g. stair hole in Lulworth cove

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19
Q

What are dips in rock

A

. Refers to the angle at which rock strata lie
- Landward facing
sea \\ land
- seaward facing
sea /// land

20
Q

What is faulting in rocks

A
  • Is major cracks in rock caused by tectonic activity
  • Caused by displacement of rocks either side of the fault line

increases erosion

21
Q

What are joints in rock

A
  • Fractures in the rock created without movement
  • occur in most rocks, often in regular patterns dividing up strata
22
Q

What are fissures in rock

A
  • Small cracks in rocks also represent weakness that erosion can exploit
  • causes are:
    weathering - freeze thaw and biological (e.g. plant growth and animal burrowing)
23
Q

What can be found on a concordant coastline and how is it created

named example?

A

A cove
- When hard rock has an area of weakness the area is focused on by erosion and is eroded away
- once the hard rock is eroded overtime the soft rock behind will be eroded at a faster rate and erosion will slow again when hitting the hard rock behind the soft rock
- Sea water can now get through the eroded rocks and creates a cove

Lulworth cove

24
Q

What can be found on a discordant coast line and how is it made

named example?

A

A bay
- The soft rock erodes at a much quicker pace to the hard rock beside it
- The soft rock will be eroded creating a bay and the hard rock will be a headland

East coast of isle of Purbeck

25
What are the different cliff profiles that effects rate of erosion (relief) of a coast
Horizontal dip/strata Seaward dip - high angle Seaward dip - low angle Landward dip
26
What is the cliff profile and stability like on a Horizontal dip/strata
. profile - Near vertical Wave cut notches via hydraulic action can cause weakness stability - Stable coast weathering can cause instability to top layers
27
What is the cliff profile and stability like on a seaward dip - high angle - low angle
High angle . profile - large angle from sea to land - vulnerable rock slides down the dip slope when strata is attacked by sub-areial processes . Stability - Unstable Low angle . profile - Low angle between sea and cliff - weathering at bottom of the cliff causes weakness and an overhang meaining it is very vulnerable to rock falls . stability - Unstable lots of small mass movment and also major cliff collapsings can happen
28
what is the cliff profile and stability like on a landward dip
. profile - Rock dips inland . stability - Stable due to the cliff strong and supported
29
What are Examples of igneous rock and the erosion rate and why
Examples - Granite, Basalt, Andesite, Rhyolite Erosion rate - slow - Often have few joints so limited weakness that erosion can exploit - Igneous rocks are crystalline; the interlocking crystals make for strong, hard erosion - resistant rocks
30
What are the examples of metamorphic rock What is the erosion rate and explanation
Examples - Slate, marble, quartzite Erosion rate - Very slow - Crystalline metamorphic rock are resistant to erosion - Often folding and heavily fractured which erosion may exploit - Many rock exhibits a feature foliation, where crystals are all orientated in one direction, produces weakness
31
What are examples of sedimentary rock what is the erosion rate and why
Examples - Sandstone, limestone, flint and rock salt Erosion rate and explanation - Moderate to fast - Age of sedimentary rock is important as younger rocks tend to be weaker - Rocks with many bedding places and fractures are most vulnerable - Most sedimentary rock is clastic so erodes faster than crystalline igneous and metamorphic rocks
32
How does rock permeability affect a rocks erosional resistance
If you have a porous permeable rock water can get into the rock. Water is heavy so gravity can cause mass movement and slumping. Also the water can put a lot of pressure on the rock causing it to crack
33
For plants growing in sand dunes what are the conditions they face
- Dry sediment - Salt form the sea water - mobile sediment that lacks nutrients - High winds
34
What are Halophytes and xerophytes
Halophytes - Can tolerate salt water (Around their roots) Xerophytes - Can tolerate very dry conditions
35
What is plant succession
How a group of plants change over time. One community of plants is replaced by another as succession develops. - Pioneer species - First specialised plants to grow on the coast where there is a supply of sediment and deposition - Climax vegetation - Last stage where there is a new ecosystem of plants that are in equilibrium with the environment and there are no new species
36
How does vegetation stabilise sediment?
- Roots bind sediment so its hard to erode - When submerged plants growing in sediment act as a protective layer so its not exposed to water moving over it - Plants protect sediment from wind erosion by reducing wind speed (reduced by friction with plants) - Plants provide nutrience to the sediment (decaying vegetation adds humus to the soil
37
What are the different sand dunes
- Embryo and fore dunes - Yellow dunes - Gray dunes - Dune slack - Dune heath/ woodland
38
What are embryo and fore dunes like What are some plants that grow here
PH of 7 and low fertility O2 content (OH%) 0.01 - Sand builds up against pioneer dunes - Poor water retention so plants have waxy leaves and long roots to retain and get water - Plants have a high salt tolerance due to sea water during high tied or storms - Strong winds so plants are often short e.g. (sea rocket, sea couch)
39
What are Yellow dunes like what is the example of the dominant species
PH- 6.5, low fertility, O2 content (OH%) = 0.23 - Some humus forming - Reduced wind speeds - More water retentive Marriam grass dominant species: - Salt tolerant - In rolled leaves to reduce water loss and long tap roots
40
What are Gray dunes like
PH of 5-6, low fertility, O2 content - 1.0 - Little mobile sand - higher humus content (makes sand look grey) - A more closed vegetation which Marriam cannot compete with - High diversity of species
41
What are dune slacks like?
PH of 4-5, mid fertility , O2 content 8.5 - soil is acidic - Water table high - community that develops contains moisture loving plants commonly found in fresh water wetlands - Occurs in low lying hollows between ridges
42
What is a dune heath/woodland like?
PH of 4, High fertility, O2 content of 12.1 - Acidic soil - High fertility and nutrience rich soil - Sheltered from winds - Due to human interference true mixed woodland climax vegetation is rarely seen in dune systems in the UK ( mainly scattered trees, woody perennials ) e.g. heather
43
What is meant by the term sub-areal processes
processes where cliffs are not actively being eroded at their base. Processes before arches and caves are made e.g. Mass movement, Weathering and surface run off
44
Explain how micro-features of a cliff are formed
Found within cliffs and are features such as caves and wave-cut notches and are often controlled by the location of faults and/or strata which have a high density of joints and fissures
45
Explain how dip influences cliff profiles
- Horizontal - Strata is more easily eroded - Seaward (high-angle) - Rock slides down dip slope - Seaward (low-angle) - Areas of overhanging rock meaning rockfalls - Landward dip - Very stable cliff
46
What is Humus
Decaying animal and plant matter
47
What is the climatic climax vegetation on sand dunes
Birch Oak and pine

geography (Coasts) (4 decks)

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