EQ2 Landforms and landscapes Keywords

Question 1

formation of a wave?

Answer 1

energy from wind is transferred to water and force of wind blowing on surface of water generates ripples which grow into waves if sustained.

Question 2

fetch

Answer 2

the uninterrupted distance across water over which wind blows, and therefore the distance waves have to grow in size

Question 3

difference between wave and a tide

Answer 3

• tides- formed by gravitational pull of the moon and acting on the water on earths surface + rotation of earth.
• waves - formed via frictional drag of wind on surface of water

Question 4

beach morphology

Answer 4

shape of a beach including it’s width and slope and features such as berms, ridges and runnels.

Question 5

hydraulic action

Answer 5

the sheer power of the waves as they smash against the cliff. Air becomes trapped in the cracks in the rock and causes the rock to break apart.
+ influence of lith. ; heavily jointed/fissured sedimentary rocks are vulnerable

Question 6

abrasion

Answer 6

Abrasion is where a wave picks up sediment and throws these load items against a rock. The repeated impact chips away at the rock face until small fragments break away.
+ influence lith. ; effective abrasion needs loose sediment to be available (eg, shingle or pebbles) - sedimentary rocks more vuln than igneous ones

Question 7

attritrition

Answer 7

here material transported by a wave is eroded through collision with other load items. It breaks down sediment into smaller sized particles, and the repeated collision blunts any of the particles’ sharp edges, making the sediment increasingly rounded.
+ influence lith. ; softer rocks rapidly reduce in size

Question 8

corrosion

Answer 8

Corrosion is where water in waves dissolves rock minerals. Minerals are immediately carried away by the wave in solution. They are also vulnerable to erosion by rainwater and sea spray.
+ influence lith. ; affects carbonate rocks like limestone- vulnerable to solution by weak acids

Question 9

geo?

Answer 9

is an inlet, a gully or a narrow and deep cleft in the face of a cliff ,
created by the wave driven erosion of cliffs along faults and bedding planes in the rock. Geos may have sea caves at their heads. Such sea caves may collapse, extending the geo, or leaving depressions inland from the geo. Geos can also be created from this process

Question 10

blow hole?

Answer 10

when a coastal cave turns upwards and breaks throuh the flat cliff top- result of weak strata and presence of a fault line

Question 11

traction?

Answer 11

sediment rolls along ,pushed by waves and currents

Question 12

saltation

Answer 12

sediment bounces along, either due to force of wind/water

Question 13

suspension

Answer 13

fine material such as clay and sediment carried in the water column

Question 14

solution

Answer 14

dissolved material carried in water as a solution

Question 15

currents?

Answer 15

flows of sea water in a particular direction driven bt winds or differences in salinity, water density, or temp.

Question 16

swash aligned coast?

Answer 16

waves approach parallel to coast= limited longshore movement

Question 17

drift-aligned

Answer 17

wave crests break at an angle to the coast so there is consistent longshore drift and the generation of elongated depositional features

Question 18

gravity settling

Answer 18

occurs when the energy of transporting water becomes too low to move sediment; large sediment will be deposited first followed by smaller sediment
- pebbles then sand then silt

Question 19

flocculation

Answer 19

clay particles are suspended in water, chemical or electrical attraction= clumping togetehr = large enough to sink

Question 20

sediment cell

Answer 20

areas along the coastline where the movement of material is largely self-contained, through a system of inputs, outputs and transfer of sediment

Question 21

give an example of a sediment cell

Answer 21

THE HOLDERNESS COAST
soruces; flamborough heads chalk and hornseas boulderclay
transfer zone; places where sediment is moving by longshore drift in areas like Humber estuary
Sinks- dominant process is deposition = depositional landforms like spits ; Spurn Head

Question 22

explain how a sediment cell operates in terms of feedback.

Answer 22

allows for Sediment cells to operate in a system of negative feedback mechanisms which help maintain the balance by pushing the system back towards equilibrium when a major erosion event occurs , however human interference has led to positive feed back = disequilibrium.

Question 23

give an example of a major erosion event that led to response by a negative feedback mechanism ?

Answer 23

Major erosion of Spurn head spit via storms and tidal surges are normal = increased deposition offshore , creating na offshore bar that reduces wave energy , allowing the spit time to recover
however , rising sea levels presents a risk to longterm dynamic equilibrium of Holderness sediment cell, risking its stability.