EQ1: Why are coastal landscapes different and what processes cause these differences?

Question 1

littoral zone

Answer 1

interface between the land and water, support many plants and animals.

Question 2

cliff profile

Answer 2

classification of coasts using their geology, jointing, dip, faulting, and folding.

Question 3

coastal accretion

Answer 3

coastal sediment returns to the visible portion of a beach.

Question 4

dynamic equilibrium

Answer 4

inputs and outputs remain in balance.

Question 5

sub-aerial processes

Answer 5

processes of weathering (breakdown in situ) and mass movement.

Question 6

concordant coastlines

Answer 6

beds, layers, rocks run parallel to the coast. Dalmatian (croatia) and Haff (the Curonian Lagoon).

Question 7

discordant coastlines

Answer 7

bands of rocks and layers run perpendicular to the coast. geology alternates between strata of hard (granite) and soft rock (boulder clay) e.g. Holderness Coast.

Question 8

holocene

Answer 8

current geological epoch, started 11,500 yrs ago when glacial retreat began marking end of glacial phase.

Question 9

faults

Answer 9

planar fracture resulting from mass movement

Question 10

unconsolidated sediements

Answer 10

loose materials

Question 11

pore water pressure

Answer 11

pressure of groundwater held within soil or rock in pores

Question 12

succession

Answer 12

directional cumulative change in types of species that occupy an area in a given time

Question 13

what features make Holderness coastline distinctive?

Answer 13

• chalk headlands (Flamborough Head) and cliffs (Mappleton)
• retreating clay cliffs of Holderness Bay
• 6km spit at Spurn Head

Question 14

how does the presence of people affect Holderness Coast

Answer 14

ppl turn physical processes into hazards. Inc population bc of retirement, development of leisure and holiday facilities, caravan parks increase he rick of erosion resulting in life and property loss.

Question 15

how does interfering with natural processes affect Holderness Coast

Answer 15

processes e.g. longshore drift or unsuitable defence’s downrift impacts groynes at Mappleton. sediment cant build beaches so rapid erosion due to sediment starvation further down coastline at Great Cowden.

Question 16

how does global warming affect Holderness Coast

Answer 16

global warming and short term climate changes create SLR and inc storminess. Spurn Head and Humber Estuary at great risk from coastal flooding and erosion.