Keywords

Question 1

Abrasion

Answer 1

The wearing away of cliffs by sediment flung by breaking waves.

Question 2

Arch

Answer 2

A wave eroded passage through a small headland. This begins as a cave formed in the headland, which is gradually widened and deepened until it cuts through.

Question 3

Attrition

Answer 3

Erosion caused when rocks and boulders transported by waves bump into each other and break up into smaller pieces

Question 4

Bar

Answer 4

Where a spit grows across a bay, a bay bar can eventually enclose the bay to create a lagoon. Bars can also form offshore due to the action of breaking waves.

Question 5

Beach

Answer 5

The zone of deposited material that extends from the low water line to the limit of storm waves. The beach or shore can be divided in the foreshore and the backshore.

Question 6

Beach nourishment

Answer 6

The addition of new material to a beach artificially, through the dumping of large amounts of sand or shingle.

Question 7

Beach reprofilling

Answer 7

Chasing the profile or shape of the beach. It usually refers to the direct transfer of material from the lower to the upper beach or, occasionally, the transfer of sand down the dune face from crest to toe

Question 8

Cave

Answer 8

A large hole in the cliff caused by waves fording their way into cracks in the cliff face

Question 9

Chemical Weathering

Answer 9

The decomposition (or rotting) of rock caused by a chemical change within that rock; sea water can cause chemical weathering of cliffs

Question 10

Cliff

Answer 10

A steep rock face formed by weathering and erosion along the coastline

Question 11

Deposition

Answer 11

Occurs when material being transported by the sea is dropped due to the sea losing energy.

Question 12

Dune regeneration

Answer 12

Action taken to build up dunes and increase vegetation to strengthen the dunes and prevent excessive coastal retreat. This includes the replanting of marram grass to stabilise the dunes, as well as planting trees and providing boardwalks.

Question 13

Erosion

Answer 13

The wearing away and removal of material by a moving force, such as a breaking wave.

Question 14

Gabion

Answer 14

Steel wire mesh filled with boulders used in coastal defences

Question 15

Groyne

Answer 15

A wooden barrier built out into the sea to stop the longshore drift of sand and shingle, and so cause the beach to grow. It is used to build beaches to protect against diff erosion and provide an important tourist amenity, However, by trapping sediment it deprives another area, down-drift, of new beach material.

Question 16

Hard engineering

Answer 16

The use of concrete and large artificial structures by civil engineers to defend land against natural erosion processes.

Question 17

Headlands and Bays

Answer 17

A rocky coastal promontery made of rock that is resistant to erosion; headlands lie between bays of less resistant rock where the land has been eroded back by the sea.

Question 18

Hydraulic Action

Answer 18

The process by which breaking waves compress pockets of air in cracks in a cliff. The pressure may cause the crack to widen, breaking off rock.

Question 19

Longshore Drift

Answer 19

The zigzag movement of sediment along a shore caused by waves going up the beach at an oblique angle(wash) and returning at right angles(backwash). This results in the gradual movement of beach materials along the coast

Question 20

Managed retreat

Answer 20

Allowing cliff erosion to occur as nature taking its course: erosion in some areas, deposition in others.
Benefits include less money spent and the creation of natural environments. It may involve setting back realigning the shoreline and allowing the sea to flood areas that were previously protected by embankments and seawalls

Question 21

Mass movement

Answer 21

he downhill movement of weathered material under the force of gravity. The speed can vary considerably

Question 22

Mechanical Weathering

Answer 22

Weathering processes that cause physical disintegration or break up of exposed rock without any change in the chemical composition of the rock, for instance freeze thaw.

Question 23

Rock armour

Answer 23

Large boulders dumped on the beach as part of the coastal defences.

Question 24

Sand Dune

Answer 24

Coastal sand hill above the high tide mark, shaped by wind action, covered with grasses and shrubs.

Question 25

Sea Wall

Answer 25

A concrete wall which aims to prevent erosion of the coast by providing a barrier which reflects wave energy.

Question 26

Slumping

Answer 26

Rapid mass movement which involves a whole segment of the cliff moving down-slope along a saturated shear-plane or line of weakness.

Question 27

Soft Engineering

Answer 27

Managing erosion by working with natural processes to help restore beaches and coastal ecosystems.

Question 28

Spit

Answer 28

A depositional landform formed when a finger of sediment extends from the shore out to sea, often at a river mouth. It usually has a curved end because of opposing winds and currents

Question 29

Stack

Answer 29

An isolated pillar of rock left when the top of an arch has collapsed. Over time further erosion reduces the stack to a smaller, lower stump

Question 30

Transportation

Answer 30

The movement of eroded material.

Question 31

Wave cut platform

Answer 31

A rocky, level shelf at or around sea level representing the base of old, retreated cliffs

Question 32

Waves

Answer 32

Ripples in the sea caused by the transfer of energy from the wind blowing over the surface of the sea. The largest waves are formed when winds are very strong, blow for lengthy periods and cross large expanses of water.