The UK's Evolving Physical Landscape Flashcards
Abrasion
A form of erosion where loose material
and sediment ‘sandpapers’ the walls and
floors of the river, cliff or glacier.
Attrition
Rocks bang against each other chipping
away to make smaller, smoother rocks.
Backshore
The upper beach closest to the land,
including any cliffs or sand dunes.
Beach Nourishment
The addition of sand and sediment to an
eroding beach by humans. The new
material will be eroded by the sea which
saves the cliffs or sand dunes from
erosion and recession.
Biological Weathering
Rocks are broken apart by vegetation
and roots, or chemical reactions from
animal faeces erodes the rock face.
Concordant Coast
A coastline where bands of alternate
geology run parallel to the coast.
Corrasion
A form of mechanical erosion where
material and sediment in the sea is flung
at the cliff-face as waves break against
it, this breaks up the rocks making up the
cliff.
Chemical Weathering
The weak acid in rainwater will dissolve
chemical compounds in the rock.
Discordant Coast
A coastline where bands of alternate
geology run perpendicular to the shore.
Drainage Basin
The area of land drained by a river and
its tributaries.
Dredging
Rubbish and sediment are dug up from
the bottom of the river.
Embankments
The banks of the river are built up in
brick and concrete, to increase the
channel capacity.
Estuary
The point at where the river meets an
ocean, often muddy or silty. Sometimes
estuaries become exposed at low tide or
hazardous to traverse in a boat due to
sandbanks.
Fetch
The length of water over which the wind
has travelled.
Flood plain
The low lying and wide floor of a river
valley. Floodplains are found in the lower
course and tend to act as overspill for
the river when its channel is full.
Floodplain Zoning
Controlling where houses and buildings
are built relative to the river to reduce
their risk of flooding.
Freeze thaw
A form of physical sub-aerial weathering
where water freezes in the cracks of a
rock, expands and enlarges the crack.
This weakens the rock overtime leaving
it more open to erosion.
Geology
The physical structure and arrangement
of a rock.
groyne
A form of hard-engineering. Low-lying
concrete or wooden walls, constructed
perpendicular to the seafront and run out to
sea. They encourage the trapping of sediment
to reduce erosion caused by longshore drift or
by winds.
Hard Management
The use of concrete structures to reduce
or halt the recession of a coastline.
Includes: Groynes, Sea Walls, Rock
Armour.
Highlands
An area of land that is at a high elevation
and tends to have a larger relief.
Hydrolic action
The pressure of compressed air forced
into cracks in a rock face will cause the
rock to weaken and break apart.
Igneous Rock
Rock that has formed from volcanic
activity, often cooled magma on the
Earth’s surface.
Impermeable
A rock that does not allow water to pass
through it.
Levee
The banks of the river.
Longshore drift
The transportation of sediment along a
beach. Longshore Drift is determined by
the direction of the prevailing wind.
Lowlands
An area of land that has a small relief, so
tends to be flat and at a low elevation.
Mass movment
Where there is a large downhill
movement of material usually from a
cliff-face. Here, the rock is often weak
due to erosion and the movement is
caused by gravity.
Mechanical Weathering
Sometimes called physical weathering,
this is the breakdown of rocks due to
forces, not chemical reactions.
Metamorphic Rock
Rock formed under intense pressure and
heat, often close to tectonic plate
boundaries.
Permeable
A rock that allows water to pass through it.
Relief
The difference in the height of land for a
particular region. A large relief means a
region has a large difference between
the lowest and highest points.
Rock Armour
Large rocks or concrete blocks, used as
barricades to reduce marine erosion at
the base of cliffs.
Saltation
A form of transportation where smaller
sediment bounces along the sea bed
pushed by currents. This sediment is too
heavy to be picked up by the flow of the
water.
Salt marsh
In sheltered bays or behind spits, salt
and minerals will build up. Vegetation
may establish, further stabilising the
marsh.
Sand Dune
A depositional landform, where sand
and sediment build up around driftwood
and accumulate over time.
Sea Wall
A hard-management coastal defense,
where a concrete wall is built parallel to
the seafront, to redirect the energy of
waves away from sensitive cliffs or the
edge of a coastal town.
Soft management
The use of natural materials and
environmentally sustainable approaches
to reduce coastal recession. Includes:
Beach Nourishment, Managed Retreat,
Sand Dune Encouragement.
Solution
Acidic water dissolves chemicals from a
rock face into the water. These
chemicals can then be transported as
chemical compounds in the water.
Storm Hydrograph
A graph to show variation of river discharge over a short period of time (days).
Suspension
Small rocks that are light enough to float
are carried in the water, rather than
along the bed.
Spit
A long depositional landform, formed
from sand and shingle.
Thalweg
The path of the fastest water flow in a river.
Traction
Large rocks and boulders are rolled along the river or sea
