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Coasts - A Level > EQ1 > Flashcards

EQ1 Flashcards

1
Q

Littoral zone

A

Breakwater area
Or area nearest the coastline where high + low tides occur

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2
Q

Offshore

A

Area of deeper water beyond the point at which waves begin to break
Friction b/ the waves + the sea bed may cause some distortion of the wave shape

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3
Q

Nearshore

A

Area of shallow water beyond the low tide mark w/i which friction b/ the seabed + waves distorts the wave sufficiently to cause it to break (breaker zone)
May be a breakpoint bar b/ the offshore + nearshore zones

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4
Q

Foreshore

A

Area b/ the high tide + low tide mark

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5
Q

Backshore

A

Area above the high tide mark affected by wave action only during major storm events

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6
Q

Different types of coastlines formed by the littoral zone

A

Rocky/cliffed coast
Sandy coastline
Estuarine coastline

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7
Q

Rocky/cliffed coast

A

Areas of high relief
Usually resistant rock areas
High energy environments where erosion is greater than deposition
Destructive waves

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8
Q

Sandy coastline

A

Low relief areas
Generally flat
Soft rock areas
Low energy environments with deposition being greater than erosion

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9
Q

Estuarine coastline

A

Low relief areas w/ salt marshes + mudflats
River mouths deposition greater than erosion in a low energy environment w/ soft rock

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10
Q

Dynamic equilibrium

A

Balance b/ inputs, flows, outputs of energy + material
Long term changes = sea level rise
High + low tide
Weather conditions
Varyingwave energy

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11
Q

Classifying coasts
ST classification criteria

A

Energy inputs:
Tides ebb + flow over a 12.5 hour period + currents, rivers, precipitation, gravity + tectonics create high + low energy coastlines
Sediment inputs:
Deposition + erosion rates - deposition is higher meaning expanding coastline
Erosion = higher meaning erosive coastline
Advancing + retreating:
Happens due 2 erosion + deposition as well as = emergent + submergent coasts linked with sea level

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12
Q

Classifying coasts
LT Classification criteria

A

Geology:
The lithology (rock type) + structure (arrangement of those rocks) Used 2 determine whether a coast = rocky, sandy, estuarine + Concordant (parallel) / discordant (perpendicular)
Sea level Change:
Used 2 classify emergent + Submergent coasts. Tectonic plate movement can lift or submerge sections of land. Climate change causing sea level rise can cause a coast to become submergent

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13
Q

Submergent coastline

A

Coasts occur where se level rise relative to land

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14
Q

Features of Submergent coastline

A

Rias
Fjords
Dalmatian coastline

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15
Q

Rias

A

River valley at the coast that has been inundated by the sea as relative sea levels have risen
Resukting in a ‘drowned valley’

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16
Q

Fjord

A

A glaciated valley at the coast that has been inundated by the sea. Has steeper rising walls a straighter long profile + deeper than a ria due to glaciers over deepening the valley

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17
Q

Dalmation coastline

A

A series of longitudinal river valleys next 2 the coast that have been in inundated leaving parallel ranges of watershed ridges as islands

18
Q

Rocky coastline

A

1,000km of the UKs coastline - mainly N + W
Cliffs vary in height (Scotland) to low relief (Cornwall)
Geology is resistant + they erode v slowly
Little deposition + high energy erosion

19
Q

Sandy plains

A

Flat, low relief, often containing wetlands + salt marshes
Low energy environment
Deposition is high
Can be sand, shingle, cobble
Most of the UKs S+Ecoastlines

20
Q

Concordant coasts

A

Most of the south coast (Dorset)
One continuous layer of hard rock protecting the other layers behind it

21
Q

Discordant coasts

A

Most of the E coast (Holderness)
Differing layers of resistant + soft rock in bands
Softer rock will erode faster than harder rock

22
Q

Concordant e.g. Dalmation coast = Croatia

A

Concordant coastline produced by the geological structure of folds parallel 2 the coast
Tectonic forces produced by the collision of African + Eurasian plates
Created up folded ridges (anticlines) + down folded valleys (synclines) aligned parallel 2 the coast
Sea levels rise - overtopped the low points = anticlines + sea flooded synclines
Lines of islands separated by narrow sea channels parallel 2 the coast

23
Q

Influence of coastal dip on strata

A

Dip is the angle of inclination of the rock strata from the horizontal
Tectonic feature
Sedimentary rocks are deposited horizontally but can be tilted by folding + faulting by tectonic forces
Dramatic effect on cliff profiles

24
Q

Horizontal dip

A

Produces vertical / near vertical profile
Notches reflecting weathering + small scale mass movement of strata that are more easily eroded

25
Q

High angle of seaward dip

A

Produces a sloping low-angled profile with 1 rock layer facing the sea
Vulnerable 2 rock slides down the dip slope when uppermost strata are attacked by sub-aerial processes
Profile slopes correspond 2 that of strata dip
Bedding planes b/ strata are weakly bonded + readily loosened by weathering

26
Q

Low angle of seaward dip

A

Produces a steep profile may exceed 90 degrees
Creates areas = overhand rock
V vulnerable to rock falls
Frequent small-scale mass movement of material weathered from cliff face
Major cliff collapse when undercutting by marine erosion makes overhang unsustainable

27
Q

Landward dropping strata

A

Produces steep profiles = 70-80degrees as downslope gravitational force pulls loosened blocks into place
V stable profile w/ few rock falls

28
Q

Faults

A

Major fractures created by tectonic plates
Create a fault line
Increases the rate of erosion
Large forces involved leading 2 these rocks being easily eroded

29
Q

Joints

A

Fractures created w/o the rock being moved
Occur in most rocks + can be seen as blocks of rock
Igneous rock - form during magma cooling
Sedimentary rock - form through compression + stretching from overlying rock

30
Q

Folding

A

Bends in the rock
Produced by sedimentary rock layering
Main types: anticlines + synclines

31
Q

Bedrock lithology

A

Rate of coastal recession/retreat is influenced by the type of bedrock
Influenced by how reactive the rock is to chemicals
Wither it’s clastic (less resistant) + crystalline (more resistant) + whether it has cracks, fissures, fractures

32
Q

Igneous

A

Granite, basalt
Erode + weather v slowly because they have interlocking crystals - resistant
Contain few joints + weaknesses

33
Q

Metamorphic

A

Marble, slate, schist
Recrystallised rock through heat + pressure
Crystalline rock = resistant BUT LESS THAN SEDIMENTARY ROCK because the crystals form in the same direction (not interlocking)

34
Q

Sedimentary

A

Sandstone, limestone, clay
Formed by compaction least resistant type of rock because they’re heavily jointed - weak structures
Moderate erosion rates

35
Q

Unconsolidated sediment

A

Not yet solid rock
Not yet cemented + compacted
Drifts due 2 deposition + usually overlays bedrock
V easily eroded = 2-10 meters per yr

36
Q

Complex cliff profiles

A

Produced where there are differing types = lithology
Less resistant strata erode + weather quickly producing wave cut notches
Resistant strata erode + weather slowly retreating less rapidly

37
Q

Complex cliff profiles can be produced when there are

A

Alternating permeable + non-permeable strata

38
Q

Permeable rock

A

Allow water to flow through them because
Porous (chalk)
Numerous joints (Carboniferous limestone)
E.g. sandstone + limestone

39
Q

Permeable rock = less resistant to weathering because

A

Water percolating comes into contact w/ large surface area that can be chemically weathered
Limestone weathered by carbonation converting calcium carbonate to soluble calcium bicarbonate

40
Q

Pioneer plants

A

1st to colonise at a coastline
Modify the environment by stabilising sediment, adding nutrients to the soil + reduce evaporation rates
Create plant succession which is the process of different plant communities occupying an area of the coast overtime

Coasts - A Level (17 decks)

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