How are costal landscapes developed?

Question 1

How does climate impact weathering?

Answer 1

In warmer climates chemical weathering occurs at higher rates

In colder climates weathering such as freeze-thaw & carbonation occur more

Question 2

How can Landslides change the coastal landscape?

Answer 2

if a large mass of sediment falls in a short period of time it can result in a dramatic change in the shape of a coastline

Question 3

How does rock fall impact the coastal landscape?

Answer 3

when rocks become loose and fall due to gravity they can be taken away by the waves or stay at the bottom of the cliff as scree

Question 4

What are rotational slides?

Answer 4

this is when mass movement occur on a curved plane

Question 5

How can humans impact fluvial erosion?

Answer 5

Activities such as deforestation and building dams can impact the amount of sediment that is transported to the coast

also the effectiveness of the river to erode the sediment due to impacted levels of energy

Question 6

What is traction?

Answer 6

This is when boulders roll along the sea bed

Question 7

What is saltation?

Answer 7

when small pebbles or rocks roll along the sea bed

Question 8

What is suspension?

Answer 8

this is when the sediment is moved along in flow

Question 9

When does deposition take place?

Answer 9

this happens when the energy of the wave/wind drops due to a loss of velocity or decrease in volume of water

Question 10

When does deposition take place?

Answer 10

this happens when the energy of the wave/wind drops due to a loss of velocity or decrease in volume of water

Question 11

What is settling velocity?

Answer 11

This is the speed at which sediment of a certain size will be deposited

Larger particles deposited first with the smaller particles being deposited last

Question 12

Where do Headlands and bays form?

Answer 12

they form along discordant coastlines

Question 13

how do Headlands and bays form?

Answer 13

The weaker rock gets eroded back by erosional processes and results in bays being formed

the stronger rock is left stick out as a Headland

Question 14

What is wave refraction?

Answer 14

Wave refraction is what occurs at uneven coastlines such as headlands and bays

it is when the waves hit the headlands first and then bend the waves into the bays where energy expended is less

Question 15

How do caves form?

Answer 15

As a headland faces side erosion due to wave refraction and orthogonal converging

Faults/joints of weakness are exposed due to erosional processes such as abrasion, hydraulic action and solution

Caves form when these faults widen and damage is concentrated at low and high tide marks

Question 16

How does an arch form?

Answer 16

If the wave angle or refraction is right then it can cause erosion through the headland or the cave joining another cave on the other side

Creating an arch

Question 17

How does an stack form?

Answer 17

the base of the arch continues to widen as it is further eroded

eventually this results in the arch collapsing forming a stack

Question 17

How does an stack form?

Answer 17

the base of the arch continues to widen as it is further eroded

eventually this results in the arch collapsing forming a stack

Question 18

How does a stump form?

Answer 18

The base of the stack continues to be eroded until it collapses leading to a stump being left

Question 19

What are the 3 types of rock strata?

Answer 19

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Question 20

How are shore platforms formed?

Answer 20

Destructive waves break on relatively steep cliffs, between low and high tide marks creating a wave cut notch

continual undercutting removes the support for the rock strata above so it collapses

As the cliff retreat continues, a gently seaward sloping shore platform is created at the base of the cliff. Normally between 0 and 3 degrees in angle

the platform becomes so wide (approx. 500m) that the friction from the platform slows the waves and they break on the platform itself, ceasing the undercutting

Question 21

What is an example of an shore platform?

Answer 21

Flamborough Head on the Holderness Coastline

Question 22

What is an example of an arch?

Answer 22

Durdle Door, Jurassic coast, Dorset

Question 23

Example of a stack and stump?

Answer 23

Old harry and his wife in Dorest

Question 24

What are Geos?

Answer 24

narrow, steep sided inlets formed by weakness in the rock (e.g
joints/faults) that have eroded more rapidly thanthe surrounding rock

Question 25

How do Geos form?

Answer 25

Joints/faults cause rock to be eroded quicker than surroundings

Or

tunnel like caves can have a total collapse causing a geo to form

Hydraulic action & abrasion are main erosional processes involved with this

Question 26

How does a blowhole form?

Answer 26

when a cave only has a partial collapse it can result in a blowhole forming

in storm like conditions water can be forced up the vertical blowhole

Question 27

Whats an example of a Geo?

Answer 27

35m deep Huntsman’s Leap in Pembrokeshire which is formed
in a joint in carboniferous limestone

Question 28

What is an example of a Blowhole?

Answer 28

Trevane, Cornwall

Question 29

What are beaches?

Answer 29

They are accumulations of material between the lowest tide and highest storm waves

They are influenced by the wind strength and therefore the wave energy

Question 30

How do different wave types influence a beach?

Answer 30

destructive waves will carry sediment away from the beach creating a flatter beach

Constructive waves will bring sediment onto the beach which creates a steeper beach profile

Question 31

How do beaches vary with angle?

Answer 31

sandy beaches have a gentle gradient of less than 5 degrees, sad is very compact when wet which means that there is little energy lost from percolation allowing the backwash to pull sand down off the beach

Pebble beaches are much steeper at around 20 degrees as they have high levels of percolation through the pebbles which means the backwash loses energy and cant pull and material back

Question 32

Which beaches have LSD?

Answer 32

Drift aligned beaches have LSD

Swash aligned beaches don’t have LSD as the swash goes up at right angles

Question 33

How do spits form?

Answer 33

Most common when tidal range <3m as it allows sediment to be readily transported

Where the longshore drift current enters deeper water near the distal end, wave energy is dispersed throughout more water.

Rates of transport are reduced and deposition increases.

Question 34

Why are spits curved?

Answer 34

spits are curved due to wave refraction around the coastline and the presence of a secondary wind/wave direction influencing the coastline

Question 35

what happens to the area behind a spit?

Answer 35

it is a low energy environment so allowing deposition to continue

can lead to the formation of a lagoon or salt marsh

Question 36

Why are spits dynamic?

Answer 36

they exist as long as deposition > erosion so can be easily influences by events such as storms

Question 37

How do on-shore bars form?

Answer 37

it is formed as a spit grows across an indentation in the coastline (e.g a cove or bay)

It is also dynamic due to it being reliant on deposition > erosion & vulnerable to sea level rises and storms

At the landward side of the bar a salt water lagoon forms

Question 38

How do tombolos form?

Answer 38

A tombolo is a beach that connects the mainland to an offshore island.

It often develops first as a spit, as longshore drift (usually in one dominant direction) transports and then deposits material where the coastline changes direction and wave energy is lost.

Question 39

Where are salt marshes found?

Answer 39

They are features of low energy environments

E.g estuaries or landward sides of spits

They are vegetated areas of deposited silts and clay

Question 40

Example of salt marshes

Answer 40

Welwick Saltmarsh on the River Humber

Question 41

How does vegetation impact salt marshes

Answer 41

The greater the density of vegetation, the more sediment that is subsequently trapped, helping to stabilise the saltmarsh.

The lower marsh will be submerged by highly salty water so biodiversity is poor in such harsh conditions, inundation twice a day by high and low tides

Further inland, a greater variety of species will thrive, including reeds and rushes.

Question 42

How do Salty marshes Drain?

Answer 42

Small creeks help to drain the marsh when at low tide, but can trap salt water which are often too salty for vegetation to grow, these areas are called saltpans.