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geography 1 > The coastal zone > Flashcards

The coastal zone Flashcards

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1
Q

What does weathering mean? What does it produce?

A

The breakdown of rocks in situ (in there original location without them being moved away).
This produces finer particles that can then be removed away by mass movement, transportation and erosion.

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2
Q

What is mechanical weathering (physical weathering)?

A

It is the breakdown of the rock without any changes to the minerals that form the rock (includes freeze-thaw and exfoliation).

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3
Q

What is freeze-thaw weathering (frost shattering)?

A

Water enters a crack or joint in a rock, freezes and expands exerting pressure on the rock. Repeated freeze and thawing eventually shatters the rock.

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4
Q

What is exfoliation (Onion-skin weathering)?

A

In hot, dry climates the outer layers of rock heat up quicker than the inner layers. repeated heating and cooling peals of the outer layers.

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5
Q

What is chemical weathering?

A

When the rocks mineral composition is changed, leading to the disintegration of the rock. Occurs mostly is moist, warm environments.

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6
Q

Carbonation is?

A

The dissolving of limestone with carbonic acid (found in rainwater).

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7
Q

What is biological weathering and what is it caused by? How does it speed up mechanical and chemical weathering?

A

Caused by plants and animals- they speed up mechanical weathering with their roots and burrowing. Organic acids released by organisms may also speed up chemical weathering.

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8
Q

What is mass movement?

A

The movement of sediment downhill under gravity.

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9
Q

Landslides are?

A

The sliding of areas of land downhill under gravity (often in areas of layer cake geology e.g. Lyme Regis)

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10
Q

What are mudflows?

A

The flowing and sliding of unconsolidated sediment downhill under gravity.

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11
Q

What is soil creep?

A

The slow, steady movement of top soil downhill under gravity.

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12
Q

What are rock falls?

A

The quick, sudden falling of rock downhill under gravity (often caused by freeze-thaw).

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13
Q

What are constructive waves?

A

Waves that lead to deposition (They have long wavelength, low height, strong swash, weak backwash, less frequent and break gently)

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14
Q

What are destructive waves?

A

Waves that lead to erosion (they have short wave length, high height, weak swash, strong backwash, scouring action, frequent).

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15
Q

What does fetch mean?

A

The distance the wind has blown over the sea. Long fetch creates strong destructive waves.

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16
Q

What is erosion?

A

The breakdown of sediment by moving forces. Done by destructive waves.

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17
Q

What is hydraulic action (hydraulic power)?

A

The power and weight of the water breaking against the coastline.

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18
Q

What is abrasion?

A

The breaking waves throw sand and sediment against the cliff face.

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19
Q

Attrition is?

A

Particles carried in the wave rub against each other and are worn down.

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20
Q

What is corrosion?

A

The action of acids and salts in sea water corroding the cliff face.

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21
Q

What is transportation?

A

The movement of sediment from one place to another.

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22
Q

What is longshore drift?

A

Movement of sediment in a zig zag pattern up and down the shore with a swash and backwash. The direction of longshore drift is dictated by the direction of the prevailing wind.

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23
Q

What is traction?

A

The rolling of larger boulders on the sea bed.

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24
Q

The bouncing of smaller boulders on the sea bed is known as what?

A

Saltation

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25
Q

When sediment is carried in the body of water is called what?

A

Suspension

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26
Q

What is solution?

A

When sediment is dissolved in the water.

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27
Q

What is deposition?

A

The dumping of the sediment load carried in the waves. Done by constructive waves.

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28
Q

What is landform erosion?

A

Land forms created by the erosive power of destructive waves e.g. headlands and bays, cliffs, wave cut notches, wave cut notches platforms, caves, arches, stacks and stumps.

29
Q

What are headlands and bays?

A

Where rocks of different hardness and resistance to erosion meet the sea, the weaker rock is eroded back more quickly to form bays. Harder, more resistant rock is left protruding out as prominent headlands either side of the bay. In the sheltered bay constructive waves then deposit their load to build up a beach.

30
Q

The most widespread landform of coastal erosion is?

A

Cliffs, a sheer rock face caused by erosion.

31
Q

What is cliff recession (retreat or collapse)?

A

Cliffs form and retreat when destructive waves attack the bottom of the rock face between the high and low water mark. Hydraulic action and abrasion undercut the cliff to form a wave cut notch. The notch increases so the top of the cliff is unsupported, continued undercutting collapses the cliff. repeated again and again so the cliff retreats leaving a wave cut platform.

32
Q

What is a wave cut notch?

A

A cutting that forms in the base of the cliff, between the high and low water mark, by hydraulic action and abrasion.

33
Q

What is undercutting?

A

The undermining of cliffs by hydraulic action and abrasion. Undercutting forms a wave cut notch.

34
Q

How is a wave cut platform formed?

A

As the cliff retreats, a new landform known as a wave cut platform is left where the old cliff face once stood.

35
Q

Where and how are caves formed?

A

They are found in areas of headland. A line of weakness (joint, crack or fissure) is widened by hydraulic action and abrasion into a cave.

36
Q

How is an arch created?

A

When a cave is opened out to the other side of headland an arch is formed. Created by hydraulic action and abrasion.

37
Q

When the top of the arch can no longer be supported it collapses, this is known as?

A

Stack

38
Q

How is a stump formed?

A

Continued erosion of a stack by hydraulic action and abrasion, reduces a stack to a stump.

39
Q

How are landforms of deposition created?

A

Landforms created by the building power of constructive waves (e.g. beaches , spits, bars and tombolo’s).

40
Q

How are beaches created and what are the composed of?

A

Created by constructive waves and longshore drift.
They are composed of sand, shingle or pebbles. Beaches are gentle slopping areas of land between the high and low water marks.

41
Q

What are spits and how are they formed?

A

Long narrow ridge of sand or shingle that extends in the sea. Found were there is a change in the direction of coastline or at the mouth of an estuary.
Formed by longshore drift. Behind the spit marshland areas are created.

42
Q

What are bars and what forms behind the bar?

A

A ridge of sand or shingle across the entrance to a bay or river mouth, linking two headlands.
A lagoon forms behind a bar. Slapton, Devon.

43
Q

A ridge of sand or shingle that links the main land to and island is known as what?

A

Tombolos

44
Q

The increase in global sea levels is known as?

A

Sea level rise

45
Q

What does global warming effect?

A

The warming of the earth melts the ice caps and glaciers, leading to an increase in sea level.

46
Q

What happens when there is a post- glacial rebound?

A

The bouncing back of land after the pressure of ice is disappeared. Scotland is rebounding up where the south of the UK is sinking into the sea like a sea saw effect.

47
Q

What are storm surges and how are they created?

A

Storm surges are floods that effect coastal areas. They are created by strong winds and storm events out at sea. Storm surges have increased in recent years.

48
Q

What is hard engineering used for?

A

The artificial use of hard structures to prevent coastal erosion.

49
Q

What is soft engineering used for?

A

The use of sustainable measures to lessen the impact of coastal erosion.

50
Q

What are sea walls, what are they used for and what is the cost?

A

A concrete wall built in front of the cliff, often forming a promenade for people to walk on.
Sea walls deflect the force of waves.
They are expensive to build and costly to maintain.

51
Q

What are groynes, what are they made of and what is their job?

A

Long fences made from wood, rock or metal, built at right angles to the beach.
They trap sediment carried by longshore drift and build up the beach. Waves break on the beach and not on the cliff.

52
Q

What is terminal groyne syndrome?

A

Rates of erosion are often increased after the last (terminal) groyne due to the sediment supply being cut off.
Groynes at Mappleton, Holderness have increased rates of erosion futher down the coast.

53
Q

What is rock armour?

A

Large boulders placed at the foot of cliffs to absorb wave energy.

54
Q

Beach nourishment is?

A

The adding of sand and shingle to an existing beach to maintain the natural protection it offers.

55
Q

What is dune regeneration?

A

The planting of spartina/ cordgrass, sea lavender and other bushes and trees n order to stabilise sand dunes and maintain the natural protection that they offer against erosion and storm surges.

56
Q

How does marsh creation help to protect land?

A

It allows the tide to invade low lying areas of land to form salt marshes which provides a natural defence against erosion and storm surges.

57
Q

what is manage retreat?

A

When the government and local authority decides to do nothing and allow the present coastline to change. Manage retreat often involves marsh creation and dune regeneration. No more repairs are made to old sea defences and the coastline (Including settlements and farmland) is abandoned to the sea.

58
Q

The costs/ benefits of coastal management include?

A

economic, social and environmental.

59
Q

What are salt marches and what do they provide?

A

A periodically flooded area of low lying land. Salt marshes provide a natural buffer between the land and the sea. They provide valuable habitats to a rich array of species.

60
Q

What are Pioneer species?

A

A species that is first to colonise an area. Pioneer species are tough resistant species.

61
Q

What is colonisation?

A

When a species successfully begins to grow in an area that was not previously lived in.

62
Q

What is a cordgrass/ spartina?

A

A pioneer species that colonises the low marsh. It is salt tolerant and will withstand being under water for long periods of the day.

63
Q

Name a flower, butterfly and a bird that can be found in the high marsh?

A

Sea lavender (colourful flower) , common blue (delicate), ringed plover- nests in the high marsh, but feeds on the abundant worms and invertebrate found in the low marsh at low tide. Another bird is an oyster catcher which feeds on abundant shell fish and other invertebrate found in low marsh.

64
Q

Low marsh is?

A

The part of the salt marsh nearest to the incoming tide. Its mudflats only just break through the surface of the water. This area is highly brackish (salty). Few species live here mainly cordgrass/ spartina.

65
Q

What is high marsh?

A

A higher part of the marsh which is almost permanently out of the water. Less brackish and more soil. Supports more species.

66
Q

What are marsh uplands?

A

The last area of saltmarsh before land. Far enough from the sea to provide a habitat for a wide array of species.

67
Q

What is vegetation succession?

A

The evolving of an area of land from salt mudflat to marsh upland and climax community. With succession comes an increase in species and biodiversity. (number of different species)

68
Q

Name a small spider that lives and clings to cordgrass in the low marsh?

A

Wolf spider - feeds during low tide.

geography 1 (6 decks)

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