key definitions Flashcards
estuarine coastline
-extensive mud flats
-cut by channels exposed at low tide
-closer to the backshore the mudflats are vegetated forms salt marsh
low wave energy
-sheltered coasts with limited fetch and low wind speeds
-results in small waves
high wave energy
-exposed coasts
-facing prevailing winds with long fetches resulting in powerful waves
primary coastlines
-dominated by land-based processes such as deposition at coast from rivers
secondary coastlines
-dominated by marine erosion or deposition processes
emergent coasts
-where coasts are rising relative to sea level
-due to tectonic uplift or isotatic rebound for example
submergent coasts
-being flooded by the sea
-could be due to rising sea levels and/or subsiding land
microtidal
-tidal range of 0-2m
mesotidal
-tidal range of 2-4m
macrotidal
-tital range greater than 4m
factors which affect erosion resistance
-how hard the rock is
-how reactive minerals in the rock are when exposed to chemical weathering
-the degree to which the rocks have cracks, fissures and fractures
clastic rock
-sedimentary, made of cemented sediment particles
resistant crystalline rock
-igneous/metamorphic made of interlocking crystals
geological structure parts
-strata
-deformation
-faulting
what can sediment supply include
-eroding cliffs
-tidal currents
-rivers
differential denundation
when things get eroded at different rates
rocky coastline
cliffs varying in height
coastal plains
gradually sloping towards the sea
microfeature
an individual feature, not the whole coastline
what are berms the result of
summer swell wave deposition
swell wave
-travelled a significant distance
-regular, smooth, long period motion
what are offshore ridges formed from
-destructive wave erosion and subsequent deposition of sand and shingle offshore
