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GCSE Geography > The Coastal Zone > Flashcards

The Coastal Zone Flashcards

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1
Q

What is weathering?

A

The disintegration/decay of rocks in their original place; at or close to the ground’s surface

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2
Q

What are the three different types of weathering?

A

Mechanical, Chemical and Biological

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3
Q

What is freeze-thaw weathering?

A

During rainfall, water seeps into pores/cracks in the rock, overnight- temperature drops, water expands as it freezes, cracks widen, over time rock disintegrates

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4
Q

What is mass movement?

A

Downhill movement of material under the influence of gravity. (material can slide or slump)

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5
Q

What is rockfall?

A

Rapid fall of rock fragments from cliffs of 40 degrees or steeper - often due to freeze-thaw

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6
Q

What is a landslide?

A

Blocks of rock slide downhill; chunks of land may stay intact

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7
Q

What is mudflow?

A

Saturated soil and weak rock flows down a slope

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8
Q

What is rotational slip?

A

A slump of saturated soil and weak rock along a curved surface

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9
Q

What is exfoliation?

A

The outer ‘skin’ of rock flakes away due to constant expansion and contraction of the outer layer as the temperature changes- causing it to flake away

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10
Q

What is solution (weathering)?

A

The dissolving of minerals in the rock by rainwater

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11
Q

What is carbonation (weathering)?

A

Rainwater picks up carbon from the air, so it becomes a weak carbonic acid. Acid reacts with calcium carbonate (chalk and limestone) to form calcium calcium bicarbonate- which then dissolves

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12
Q

What are the main source of erosion along the coastline?

A

Waves

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13
Q

What is the fetch?

A

The stretch of water which the wind blows over

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14
Q

What does a long fetch cause?

A

Larger waves

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15
Q

What are the characteristics of constructive waves?

A

Strong swash, weak backwash, so create long slightly sloping beaches

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16
Q

What are the characteristics of destructive waves?

A

Weak swash, strong backwash, so erode beaches to become short and steep

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17
Q

What is hydraulic action?

A

The sheer force of the waves forcing air into the cracks in the rock

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18
Q

What is attrition?

A

Rocks smash together, eroding each-other to become smaller and smoother

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19
Q

What is abrasion/corrasion?

A

Pebbles/rocks hit against cliffs, which erodes cliffs- and pebbles- (like sandpaper)

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20
Q

What is solution (erosion)?

A

Rocks are dissolved by a chemical reaction with the sea water

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21
Q

What are the rock layers called?

A

The rock strata

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22
Q

What is a discordant coastline?

A

Bands of soft and hard rock are perpendicular to the sea

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23
Q

What is a concordant coastline?

A

Bands of soft and hard rock are parallel to the sea

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24
Q

What type of coastline forms headlands and bays?

A

A discordant coastline

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25
Q

Which type of rock forms a bay?

A

Soft rock

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26
Q

Which type of rock forms a headland?

A

Hard rock

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27
Q

What is wave refraction?

A

The bending of the waves around an obstacle, e.g. a headland

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28
Q

Once headlands and bays have formed, where is erosion most concentrated?

A

On the headlands

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29
Q

What types of erosion cause wave-cut platforms?

A

Hydraulic power and abrasion

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30
Q

Where is the erosion concentrated on in the formation of a wave-cut platform?

A

Between the high water mark and the low water mark (the inter-tidal zone)

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31
Q

What is formed in the inter-tidal zone?

A

A wave cut notch, with an overhang above it

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32
Q

How can the formation of wave-cut platforms be summed up?

A

Overhang, collapse, repeats, retreats

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33
Q

What land-forms of erosion can be found on a headland?

A

Crack, cave, arch, stack, stump

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34
Q

What is solution (transportation)?

A

Minerals are dissolved in the seawater and carried in solution, so the load is invisible

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35
Q

What is suspension?

A

Small particles are carried in the water; water appears clouded

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36
Q

What is saltation?

A

Load is bounced along the sea bed, as the current cannot keep it afloat for long periods of time

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37
Q

What is traction?

A

The largest sediment in the load is rolled along the seabed; it is too heavy for the current to carry

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38
Q

What is longshore drift?

A

When material can be seen moving along the beach/coast (in the direction of the prevailing wind at that time)

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39
Q

What is deposition?

A

The build-up of material dropped by the sea

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40
Q

When does deposition occur?

A

When: the coast is sheltered (small waves); waves are constructive; waves have too much material; there is an obstacle (groyne, shipwreck)

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41
Q

What are ridges/berms?

A

Small ridges on a beach, which coincide with high-tide lines and storm tides

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42
Q

Where are pebble beaches commonly found?

A

Where cliffs are being eroded, and where there are high energy waves

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43
Q

What are spits?

A

Long, narrow fingers of sand/shingle that jut out of the coastline, into the sea

44
Q

What is the key process in the formation of spits?

A

Longshore drift

45
Q

What features often form behind a spit?

A

Salt marshes or mudflats, as the water is calm and sheltered

46
Q

What is a bar?

A

A spit which has reconnected to the coast at its other end (distal end), trapping a bay behind it

47
Q

What features form behind a bar?

A

A lagoon/freshwater lake

48
Q

What type of land-forms are spits and bars?

A

Land-forms of deposition

49
Q

What is a tombolo?

A

A ridge that joins land to an island

50
Q

What are the main causes of sea level rise?

A

ice caps melting- due to global warming

Thermal expansion of water as temperatures rise (so water takes up more space)- due to global warming

51
Q

What % of islands in the Maldives are less than 1 metre above sea level?

A

80%

52
Q

What is the total land area of the Maldives?

A

300 sq km

53
Q

What is the highest point of any of the Maldives islands?

A

2.4 metres above sea level

54
Q

How much has the population of the Maldives changed in the last hundred years?

A

Population has quadrupled since 1911

55
Q

What are the main sources of income for the Maldives?

A

Tourism and Fishing; both of which rely on coral reefs

56
Q

How many tourists does the Maldives receive per year?

A

500,000

57
Q

If the Maldives were to flood, where would the inhabitants be sent?

A

Australia, India, and surrounding countries; causing political strains

58
Q

How soon is it possible that the Maldives will be underwater if no action is taken?

A

The Maldives may be flooded in as little as 50 years

59
Q

What are 3 aims of the Maldives in order to attempt to prevent its flooding?

A

Become the 1st carbon neutral country by 2020
Replace all vehicles with electric models
Construct a 3 m high sea wall around Male (capital) (would cost £63 million)

60
Q

What is cliff collapse?

A

When a vertical or near vertical part of the coastline weakens, erodes and falls on the land below

61
Q

What factors contribute to cliff collapse?

A

Formation of wave cut notches, freeze-thaw weathering ,human activity, rainwater (makes soil heavier)

62
Q

What are the two types of coastal management?

A

Hard management and soft management

63
Q

What is a sea wall?

A

Concrete/rock barrier at the foot of a cliff/top of a beach

Curved face to reflect waves back into the sea

64
Q

What are groynes?

A

Timber/rock structures built out into the sea from coast
Trap sediment moved by LSD, creates broader beaches
Beach=wave barrier; less waves attack the cliffs

65
Q

What is rip-rap/rock armour?

A

Piles of large boulders places at the foot of cliffs
Rocks force waves to break & absorb the energy
Rocks brought by boat to coast

66
Q

What is beach nourishment?

A

Adding sand/shingle to an existing beach, to make it higher/broader
sediment is usually obtained locally, brought onshore by barge

67
Q

What is dune regeneration?

A

Marram grass planted to stabilise/develop dunes

Sand dune: natural coastal defence but easily damaged/destroyed (so are usually fenced off when being regenerated)

68
Q

What is marsh creation?

A

Low lying coastal areas allowed to be flooded by the sea and become salt marshes- an effective barrier to the sea. (example of managed retreat)

69
Q

What is managed retreat?

A

Allowing land to be eroded naturally. (Usually if land is high flood risk or cliff collapse and is low value/poor quality

70
Q

What are the advantages and disadvantages of sea walls?

A

+: stops sea, has walkways for people to walk along

-: ugly/obtrusive, expensive, high maintenance costs

71
Q

What are the positives and negatives of groynes?

A

+: results in bigger beaches (and tourist potential), useful for fishermen, not too expensive
-: interrupts LSD (encourages erosion elsewhere), unnatural/unattractive

72
Q

What are the positives and negatives of rip-rap?

A

+: quite cheap, easy to maintain, can provide interest to the coast, used for fishing
-:rocks from other places; expensive to transport, obtrusive, don’t fit with local geology

73
Q

What are the positives and negatives of beach nourishment?

A

+: quite cheap and easy to maintain, blends with existing beach, increases tourist potential; bigger beach
-:constant maintenance

74
Q

What are the positives and negatives of dune regeneration?

A

+: Maintains natural coast environment, creates wildlife habitats, quite cheap
-: Time-consuming, limited access to tourists, damaged by storms

75
Q

What are the positives and negatives of marsh creation?

A

+:cheap, habitats for wildlife

-:land lost, farmers/land-owners need compensation for land

76
Q

What are the positives and negatives of managed retreat?

A

+: cheap

-:loss of land, farmers need compensation

77
Q

What are the prices of hard engineering strategies?

A

sea walls: up to £10 million per sq km, groynes: up to £5 million per km, rip-rap: about £1 to 4 million per km

78
Q

What are the prices of soft engineering strategies?

A

Beach replenishment: about £3 million per km, Dune regeneration: about £20,000 per km, Marsh creation: about £5,000 to 10,000 per hectare, Managed retreat: £0 (plus compensation)

79
Q

What is an ecosystem?

A

A community of living organisms in conjunction with non-living components of their environment- interacting as a system

80
Q

What is a habitat?

A

The natural home or environment of an animal, plant or other organism

81
Q

What are coastal sand dunes?

A

Accumulations of sand shaped into mounds by the wind, that are found at the back of a beach (above the usual maximum reach of the tide)

82
Q

What type of land-forms are sand dunes?

A

Dynamic land-forms

83
Q

What is needed for a sand dune to form?

A

Loose sand, wind/breeze, obstacle (causes sand to build up against it)

84
Q

As you move inland, what happens to the pH levels in the ground?

A

The pH becomes more acidic (so the pH number becomes lower)

85
Q

What happens to the humus content of the soil?

A

It increases (from close to 0% up to 10%+)

86
Q

What is the humus content?

A

The organic component of soil

87
Q

What are the dune names? (from coast to inland)

A

embryo dune, fore dune, yellow dune, grey dune, mature dune

88
Q

What is the dip in between dunes called?

A

The dune slack

89
Q

Where is marram grass (mainly) found?

A

embryo dune, fore dune, yellow dune

90
Q

What plant species are found on/in the grey dune, dune slacks and mature dune?

A

Grey: sea spurge, heather
Slack: yellow iris, rushes, reeds
Mature: Pine trees, Birch trees

91
Q

Where (on the dunes) is there the smallest amount of animal and plant diversity?

A

On the most coastal sand dunes (embryo/fore/yellow)- harsh conditions as the dunes are very exposed

92
Q

What animal species are found on/in the grey dune, dune slacks and mature dune?

A

Grey: adders, sand lizards, butterflies
Slacks: dragonflies, Natterjack toads, water voles
Mature: Sika deer (and many animal species- largest diversity)

93
Q

What is the case study for ‘Management/conservation of a coastal environment’?

A

Studland bay sand dunes

94
Q

Where is Studland bay?

A

Dorset, Central-South England

95
Q

What other feature does Studland have?

A

Old Harry rocks

96
Q

In what ways are the Studland bays protected?

A

Managed by the National Trust, is a NNR (National Nature Reserve), Studland Beach Users Action Group (SBUAG) addresses beach issues

97
Q

What are 4 general issues in sand dune management?

A

Paths expose sand (meaning it is eroded away by wind), animal habitats easily disturbed, litter/car parking issues due to tourism, fires from BBQs in summer

98
Q

What are specific dune management issues at Studland?

A

National trust: wants tourists to visit beach (would bring in money; £0.5 mil a year- could be used to protect/conserve) English Nature: wants to limit access to specialist groups; to protect/conserve environment, Tourists: want to pursue many leisure activities

99
Q

What management strategies are being used at Studland?

A

Boardwalks (protect sand), knoll beach car park, bins, fire beaters (and BBQ ban), fenced areas, dog ban (July-Sept), education centre @ Knoll beach

100
Q

How much rubbish is produced at Studland by tourists?

A

2 tonnes per week

101
Q

What is the case study for a sustainable coastal management scheme?

A

The Holderness coast

102
Q

Why does Holderness need coastal management?

A

It’s made of soft rock- glacial till (boulder clay), has no wide sandy beaches to protect it, waves attacking it have a long fetch (high energy), Europe’s fastest eroding coastline (about 2 m a year)

103
Q

What strategies are used on the Holderness coastline?

A

Hornsea: sea wall, rock armour, groynes
Mappleton: rock armour, groynes
Bridlington: sea wall, groynes
Withernsea: sea wall, groynes, rock armour

104
Q

Is the management at Holderness sustainable?

A

It may not be for points south of the main protection, sediment supply is cut off; so spurn head spit could erode

105
Q

What has the implementation of groynes at Mappleton caused?

A

‘Seaside caravan park’ Skipsea losing 10 pitches a year, Sue Earl lost Great Cowden farm (source of income), loss of agricultural land, erosion south of Mappleton has increased from 3 m a year to 30 m

GCSE Geography (6 decks)

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