Topic 2B Coastal Landscapes and Change Flashcards
What is the Littoral Zone?
The wider coastal zone including adjacent land areas and shallow parts of the sea just offshore
What is a system?
An assemblage of interrelated parts that work together by way of some driving process. They are a series of stores/components that have processes between them.
What are inputs?
Material or energy moving into the system from outside, e.g. precipitation.
What are stores/components?
The individual elements or parts of a system, e.g. sand; pebbles.
What are processes?
The links or relationships between the components, e.g. erosion.
What are outputs?
Material or energy moving from the system to the outside, e.g. stacks/stumps.
What is Dynamic Equilibrium?
The balanced state of a system. When opposing forces, or inputs and outputs, are equal.
Features of Rocky/Cliffed coastlines
Cliffs vary in height and are formed of rock but with variety in hardness.
What are Coastal Plains?
Land gradually slopes towards the sea across an area of deposited sediment, with sand dunes and mud flats being common. A.k.a alluvial coasts.
Characteristics of a cliffed coastline
Transition from land to sea is abrupt, at low tide a wave cut platform is visible
Characteristics of a Sandy coastline
Sand dunes fringe many coastal plains
Characteristics of a Estuarine coastline
Found at the mouths of rivers, characterised by mud flats
What is geology?
Rock age and type
What are igneous rocks?
The Earth’s oldest rocks, formed from lavas and deep magmas. They were once molten, then cooled and crystallised. Most igneous rocks are resistant to erosion.
What are sedimentary rocks?
Formed from sediments eroded and deposited by rivers, the sea, or on the sea bed. Some are resistant (e.g. limestone) whilst others crumble easily (e.g. shale).
What are metamorphic rocks?
Sedimentary rocks that were heated and compressed during igneous activity. Heating and compression harden them and make them resistant - shale becomes slate and limestone becomes marble.
What is coastal accretion?
the deposition of sediment at the coast and the seaward growth of the coastline, creating new land. It often involves sediment deposition being stabilised by vegetation.
What are high-energy coastlines?
The rate of erosion exceeds rate of deposition, characterised by headlands, cliffs and shoreline platforms
What are low energy coastlines?
The rate of deposition exceeds rate of erosion, characterised by beaches, spits and coastal plains
What are concordant coasts?
This is where bands of more-resistant and less-resistant rock run parallel to the coast.
What are discordant coasts?
The geology alternates between bands of more-resistant and less-resistant rock, which run perpendicular to the coast.
What is geological structure?
Refers to the arrangement of rocks in three dimensions. Strata, deformation and faulting are the three key elements to geological structure.
What is coastal morphology?
The shape and form of coastal landscapes and their features
What is coastal recession?
Another term for coastal erosion
