Environment Flashcards
Explain the term beach?
A beach is a a strip of sloping land that separates a body of water from inland areas
What is swash on waves?
The forward movement of water
What is backwash on a wave
The backwards movement of water
What are constructive waves?
Waves that have more powerful swash than backwash. Deposits sediment on the beach
What are destructive waves?
Have powerful backwash. Remove sediment/material from the beach
Describe long-shore Drift
Waves that come on to the beach at an angle. The swash will move up the beach at that angle. But the resulting backwash will be moving the water directly backwards due to gravity. Moving material along a beach
What is a gyre in an ocean setting?
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Describe how a cave is formed on a beach
A cave is formed on the beach when difference in hardness of rocks cause a different rate of erosion. This creates caves.
What is an arch in a coastal setting?
Arches are formed when difference in hardness causes difference erosion rates in rocks.
What is a stack? How is it made?
Stacks are remnants of cliffs that resist erosion.
What is headland?
Created by differential erosion where some parts are made of harder rocks or rocks that have fewer fractures. Bays are formed from softer or more fractured rocks being eroded. Meanwhile the headland is harder, less fractured rocks
What is a spit?
Spits are extensions of beaches where sand is deposited at the end by long shore drift
Describe wave erosion
Where waves crash up against land and the sediment act like sandpaper eroding structures they rub against
What is a wave cut notch?
A wave cut notch is an area where waves are concentrated and lead to cliffs collapsing as the sea undercuts the base of the cliff making it too heavy and falls.
What is a dune?
Dunes are sand sediments that have been picked up by the wind and brought further inland
