Key terminology

Question 1

Bedding planes

Answer 1

Natural breaks in the strata.

Question 2

Cliff profile

Answer 2

The height and the angle of the cliff, as well as its features, such as wave cut notches or changes in the cliff angle.

Question 3

Coastal Accretion

Answer 3

The deposition of sediment and the coast, and the seaward growth of the coastline, creating new land.

Question 4

Coastal plains (Alluvial coastline)

Answer 4

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.

Question 5

Concordant coastline

Answer 5

Rock strata runs parallel to the coastline

Question 6

dip

Answer 6

the angle rock strata lies.

Question 7

discordant coastline

Answer 7

Where different resistant rock strata layers intersect the coastline

Question 8

dynamic equilibrium

Answer 8

A balanced system where inputs and outputs balance over time.

Question 9

emergent coast

Answer 9

Where coasts are rising relative to sea levels.

Question 10

faults

Answer 10

major fractures in rock caused by tectonic forces, and causing the displacement of rocks on either side of the Faultline.

Question 11

geological structure

Answer 11

the arrangement of rocks in three dimensions: Deformation, faulting, and strata.

Question 12

halophyte

Answer 12

plants that can tolerate salty environments.

Question 13

high energy coastline

Answer 13

Exposed coasts facing prevailing winds with long wave fetches resulting in powerful waves.

Question 14

Lithification

Answer 14

Where materials such as sand, gravel ,and clay is compacted over time and becomes rock.

Question 15

Lithology

Answer 15

The characteristics of rock (Permeability, resistance, type of rock, presence of fissures, porosity, joints and bedding planes)

Question 16

Littoral zone

Answer 16

The wider coastal zone including adjacent land areas and shallow areas of sea offshore.

Question 17

low energy coastlines

Answer 17

sheltered coasts with limited fetch and slow winds resulting in small waves.

Question 18

Plant succession

Answer 18

the changing structure of a plant community over time as once bare sediment is consolidated by plants.

Question 19

pore water pressure

Answer 19

the pressure water experiences below a certain point under the water table due to the water above it.

Question 20

Primary coasts

Answer 20

dominated by land-processes such as deposition from rovers or lava flows.

Question 21

rocky coastlines

Answer 21

resistant rocks, with cliffs varying in height from a few metres to hundreds of metres, usually found in high energy environments.

Question 22

secondary coasts

Answer 22

Dominated by marine processes such as erosion and marine deposition.

Question 23

submergent coasts

Answer 23

Where coasts are being flooded by the sea, either by rising sea levels or subsiding land.

Question 24

unconsolidated sediment

Answer 24

materials such as sand, gravel, clay and silt that has not been compacted or cemented to become sedimentary rock.

Question 25

wave refraction

Answer 25

the bending of waves around a headland.

Question 26

xerophyte

Answer 26

plants that can tolerate very dry environments

Question 27

abrasion

Answer 27

where sediment picked up by breaking waves is thrown against the cliff face, causing it to chip away.

Question 28

Attrition

Answer 28

Collision between already eroded sediment

Question 29

backwash

Answer 29

Where water runs back down the beach due to gravity.

Question 30

beach morphology

Answer 30

the shape of the beach, including its profile, and the sediment found in different locations along the beach.

Question 31

constructive waves

Answer 31

low, surging waves which have a long wave length, strong swash, and weak backwash.

Question 32

destructive waves

Answer 32

high, plunging waves, with a short wavelength ,weak swash, and strong backwash.

Question 33

erosion

Answer 33

the breakdown of rock due to the action of an external force which then transport the newly broken sediment to a new location.

Question 34

fetch

Answer 34

the distance over water in which wind blows, so the distance which a wave has travelled.

Question 35

flocculation

Answer 35

The attraction of clay molecules to each other because of electrostatic energy, therefore causing them to clump together and become large enough to sink.

Question 36

gravity settling

Answer 36

energy transporting sediment within water becomes too weak and drops the sediment.

Question 37

hydraulic action

Answer 37

air is trapped or compressed in cracks or fissures in cliffs because of the force of waves, therefore breaking open the cracks wider.

Question 38

longshore drift

Answer 38

the process of sediment moving along a coast when waves approach at an angle, causing a drift-aligned beach.

Question 39

mass movement

Answer 39

the downslope movement of rock and soil

Question 40

negative feedback

Answer 40

a cyclical sequence of events, which dampens the impacts of a system, therefore returning to a state of equilibrium.

Question 41

positive feedback

Answer 41

a cyclical sequence of events which increases the impacts of a system

Question 42

saltation

Answer 42

smaller and lighter sediment bounces sediment along a seabed. Wind also bounces sand along the coast.

Question 43

sediment cell

Answer 43

a long stretch of coastline operating as an almost closed system with inputs, outputs, and transfers.

Question 44

solution (marine)

Answer 44

Dissolved sediment carried in water as a solution.

Question 45

sub-aerial processes

Answer 45

the breakdown of rock due to weathering, and the subsequent mass movement process causing collapse.

Question 46

suspension

Answer 46

lighter sediment floats in water.

Question 47

swash

Answer 47

the flow of water up a beach as a wave breaks.

Question 48

traction

Answer 48

relatively large rocks are rolled along the seabed.

Question 49

weathering

Answer 49

the breakdown of rocks in-situ by mechanical, biological, or chemical means.

Question 50

barrier islands

Answer 50

offshore bars, usually sand dune covered which are not attached to the mainland.

Question 51

dissipation

Answer 51

how wave energy is decreased by friction with seabed material.

Question 52

Dredging

Answer 52

scooping or sucking sediment form the seabed

Question 53

Eustatic change

Answer 53

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.

Question 54

Fjord

Answer 54

a drowned U-shaped glacial valley.

Question 55

isostatic change

Answer 55

a local rise or fall in land level

Question 56

post-glacial isostatic adjustment

Answer 56

the uplift experienced by land due to the removal of ice sheets, also known as isostatic recovery.

Question 57

raised beaches

Answer 57

isostatic recovery causing the former shoreline platforms to raise.

Question 58

Ria

Answer 58

A drowned river valley caused by rising sea level.

Question 59

risk

Answer 59

The level of exposure to an event, the probability of it happening

Question 60

storm surge

Answer 60

the temporary rise in sea level due to a low-pressure system.

Question 61

Coastal conflict

Answer 61

Disagreement of how coasts should be protected, and which areas should be protected.

Question 62

Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA)

Answer 62

Forecasting of costs, weighed up against expected benefits.

Question 63

environmental refugees

Answer 63

communities forces to abandon their homes due to natural processes.

Question 64

hard engineering

Answer 64

structures that stop physical processes, such as longshore drift, in order to protect a coastline.

Question 65

ICZM

Answer 65

Integrated Coastal Zone Management, whereby the coast is managed as a whole in a sustainable way.

Question 66

Littoral cell.

Question 67

megaprojects

Question 68

Players