Topic 4: UK Physical Environment Flashcards
What was the tropical seas like 300 million years ago?
This seas used to be warm and tropical
What have tectonic processes done in shaping Britain?
They played a huge part in shaping Britain geology and landscapes of today as it used to be a volcanic island
What was North England like 12,000 years ago?
Under glacial ice
Name three rock types
Igneous
Sedimentary
Metamorphic
How is igneous rocks formed?
Magma cools and hardens. Rocks form crystals as it cools down and rocks, usually are hard such as granite
How are sedimentary rock formed?
Layers of sediments are compacted together until they will become solid rock
Such as clay and shales are made from mud and a very soft
How are metamorphic rocks formed?
Formed when other rocks, such as igneous are changed by heat and pressure
New rock becomes harder and more compact
Such as shale becomes slate
What is the Tees EXE line?
Is the line that separates the main rock types in the UK
How is plate collision affected rocks?
Caused the rocks to be folded and uplifted, forming mountain ranges
And there is intense heat and pressure caused by plate collisions
What are some effects of the ice age?
Around 12,000 years ago, the uplands were under 300 m of ice, which erroded large, quorries like Bluewater
As it moved through the uplands landscape eroded a huge areas to create U-shaped valleys
What is happened after glacial shield river processes?
Now the river in upland areas are fed by rainwater so rivers are very small relative to their valleys. These are called misfit streams
Where is an example of upland and lowland?
Upland: Lake District
Lowlamd: Weald
What are some features of the Lake District?
Igneous rock form.
Large volcanoes, 300-450 million years ago, erupted here, and caused mountains
What are some features of Weald
V shaped valleys
Heavy rainwater can lead to flooding
It is flat
What is afforestation?
Where you Let trees grow and plant them to increase forest cover
Why is sheep farming important part of the lake district?
The sheep that have been named the most attractive, sheep breed
They have influenced stone wars to keep them pending which act as linear lines on the landscape.
A source of income from sheep, farming and grazing
Environment agency want to Re-Wild with the sheep removed and allowed trees to grow to reduce flooding
What is deposition?
Sediment, soil and rocks are added to a land force and his material being carried by the seawater, and it dropped by the coast
What are the 4 ways of sediment transports?
Solution
Suspension
Traction
Saltation
How does solution work?
Dissolve chemicals often made from limestone or chalk
How does suspension work?
Particles carried in the water
How does saltation work?
A hopping bouncing motion of particles, too heavy to be suspended are moved
How does traction work?
Large pebbles rolled along the seabed
How does longshore drift move material?
- Water follows the direction of the prevailing wind
- They usually hit at a oblique angle
- The swash carries mature up the beach in the same direction as the wave
- Backwash and carries material down the beach right angle back towards sea
- Overtime, materials zigzags along the coast.
What is resistant rock?
Rock that is strong against erosion such as sandstone and granite
What is less resistant rock?
Rock that is weak to erosion such as clay
What are joints?
Small and vertical cracks found in many rocks
What is a fault?
Larger cracks caused by past tectonic movements with rocks have moved
What are 2 main types of erosion?
Abrasion
Hydraulic action
How to wave cut notches and platforms form?
- Waves cause most the erosion at the foot of the cliff
- This forms a wave cut notch, which is a eroded as erosion continues
- The rock above the notch becomes unstable when eventually collapses.
- The collapse was washed away and a new wave notch starts the form.
- Collapsing creates cliff, retreating and wave platform is left
What is impact?
Something caused by humans
What is an indirect impact?
Something caused as a result of a direct impact
What is the study case for topic 4?
Holderness coast
How can humans affect the coast?
Human activities increase the rate of erosion along our coast. This will affect sediments, tourism, agriculture, infrastructure and construction.
Name three facts about holderness coast
It is 61 km long
It has farmland and caravan parks
There has been a lot of erosion and 1.8 m has lost a year
What do groynes do?
They stopped longshore drift transporting sediment along the coast
What does sea walls do?
Reflects wave energy out to see and stopping at hitting the cliff
What does beach nourishment do?
Adding sediment to a beach build up the beach, height and the beach, absorbs, wave, energy and prevents waves breaking at the base of the cliff
What does slope stabilisation do?
Vegetation is planted by laying planting grasses and scrubs and the roots, stabilises, soil and drainage pipes can also be included which would reduce water pressure
Why is the sea level rising?
It is rising because warm water is expanding due to thermal expansion, and Ice sheets and glaciers on land melt and add to the sea level
What is discharge in rivers?
The volume of water
