Key terminology Flashcards
Bedding planes
Natural breaks in the strata.
Cliff profile
The height and the angle of the cliff, as well as its features, such as wave cut notches or changes in the cliff angle.
Coastal Accretion
The deposition of sediment and the coast, and the seaward growth of the coastline, creating new land.
Coastal plains (Alluvial coastline)
The land gradually slopes towards the sea across and area of deposited sediment. E.g., sand dunes or mud flats. Usually found in low energy coastlines.
Concordant coastline
Rock strata runs parallel to the coastline
dip
the angle rock strata lies.
discordant coastline
Where different resistant rock strata layers intersect the coastline
dynamic equilibrium
A balanced system where inputs and outputs balance over time.
emergent coast
Where coasts are rising relative to sea levels.
faults
major fractures in rock caused by tectonic forces, and causing the displacement of rocks on either side of the Faultline.
geological structure
the arrangement of rocks in three dimensions: Deformation, faulting, and strata.
halophyte
plants that can tolerate salty environments.
high energy coastline
Exposed coasts facing prevailing winds with long wave fetches resulting in powerful waves.
Lithification
Where materials such as sand, gravel ,and clay is compacted over time and becomes rock.
Lithology
The characteristics of rock (Permeability, resistance, type of rock, presence of fissures, porosity, joints and bedding planes)
Littoral zone
The wider coastal zone including adjacent land areas and shallow areas of sea offshore.
low energy coastlines
sheltered coasts with limited fetch and slow winds resulting in small waves.
Plant succession
the changing structure of a plant community over time as once bare sediment is consolidated by plants.
pore water pressure
the pressure water experiences below a certain point under the water table due to the water above it.
Primary coasts
dominated by land-processes such as deposition from rovers or lava flows.
rocky coastlines
resistant rocks, with cliffs varying in height from a few metres to hundreds of metres, usually found in high energy environments.
secondary coasts
Dominated by marine processes such as erosion and marine deposition.
submergent coasts
Where coasts are being flooded by the sea, either by rising sea levels or subsiding land.
unconsolidated sediment
materials such as sand, gravel, clay and silt that has not been compacted or cemented to become sedimentary rock.
wave refraction
the bending of waves around a headland.
xerophyte
plants that can tolerate very dry environments
abrasion
where sediment picked up by breaking waves is thrown against the cliff face, causing it to chip away.
Attrition
Collision between already eroded sediment
backwash
Where water runs back down the beach due to gravity.
beach morphology
the shape of the beach, including its profile, and the sediment found in different locations along the beach.
constructive waves
low, surging waves which have a long wave length, strong swash, and weak backwash.
destructive waves
high, plunging waves, with a short wavelength ,weak swash, and strong backwash.
erosion
the breakdown of rock due to the action of an external force which then transport the newly broken sediment to a new location.
fetch
the distance over water in which wind blows, so the distance which a wave has travelled.
flocculation
The attraction of clay molecules to each other because of electrostatic energy, therefore causing them to clump together and become large enough to sink.
gravity settling
energy transporting sediment within water becomes too weak and drops the sediment.
hydraulic action
air is trapped or compressed in cracks or fissures in cliffs because of the force of waves, therefore breaking open the cracks wider.
longshore drift
the process of sediment moving along a coast when waves approach at an angle, causing a drift-aligned beach.
mass movement
the downslope movement of rock and soil
negative feedback
a cyclical sequence of events, which dampens the impacts of a system, therefore returning to a state of equilibrium.
positive feedback
a cyclical sequence of events which increases the impacts of a system
saltation
smaller and lighter sediment bounces sediment along a seabed. Wind also bounces sand along the coast.
sediment cell
a long stretch of coastline operating as an almost closed system with inputs, outputs, and transfers.
solution (marine)
Dissolved sediment carried in water as a solution.
sub-aerial processes
the breakdown of rock due to weathering, and the subsequent mass movement process causing collapse.
suspension
lighter sediment floats in water.
swash
the flow of water up a beach as a wave breaks.
traction
relatively large rocks are rolled along the seabed.
weathering
the breakdown of rocks in-situ by mechanical, biological, or chemical means.
barrier islands
offshore bars, usually sand dune covered which are not attached to the mainland.
dissipation
how wave energy is decreased by friction with seabed material.
Dredging
scooping or sucking sediment form the seabed
Eustatic change
a fall or rise in sea level due to water volume change. This is a global change, affecting the world’s connected oceans and seas.
Fjord
a drowned U-shaped glacial valley.
isostatic change
a local rise or fall in land level
post-glacial isostatic adjustment
the uplift experienced by land due to the removal of ice sheets, also known as isostatic recovery.
raised beaches
isostatic recovery causing the former shoreline platforms to raise.
Ria
A drowned river valley caused by rising sea level.
risk
The level of exposure to an event, the probability of it happening
storm surge
the temporary rise in sea level due to a low-pressure system.
Coastal conflict
Disagreement of how coasts should be protected, and which areas should be protected.
Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)
Forecasting of costs, weighed up against expected benefits.
environmental refugees
communities forces to abandon their homes due to natural processes.
hard engineering
structures that stop physical processes, such as longshore drift, in order to protect a coastline.
ICZM
Integrated Coastal Zone Management, whereby the coast is managed as a whole in a sustainable way.
Littoral cell.
megaprojects
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