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A2 Geography- Coasts > Waves > Flashcards

Waves Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a coast?

A

A dynamic area where the sea meets the land

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2
Q

What is the length of the uk coastline?

A

7723 miles

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3
Q

how far does the coast line extend inland and offshore?

A

Inland: settlements (such as seaside resorts), natural environments (such as sand dunes and salt marshes)
Offshore: several hundred meters- the various processes affecting the waves and the movement of sediment

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4
Q

what percentage of sediment found at the coast comes from rivers?

A

90%

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5
Q

what are the four main types of zone at the coast

A

onshore zone, backshore zone, intertidal and nearshore zone, offshore and subtidal zone

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6
Q

what are the three zones found inside the intertidal and nearshore zone?

A

swash zone, surf zone, beaker zone

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7
Q

what is the tidal range?

A

the maximum and minimum heights of the waves that the waves can be among at one time

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8
Q

what is the intertidal zone?

A

the area of seabed which is exposed to the air at low tide but submerged at high tide

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9
Q

which zone is only affected by waves in stormy conditions?

A

backshore zone

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10
Q

what is the wave length?

A

the distance between the crests of the waves

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11
Q

what is the wave height?

A

the distance between the crest and trough

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12
Q

what is the depth of the wave?

A

the distance between the seabed and the still water level

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13
Q

what is the fetch?

A

the distance the wind has traveled uninterrupted over the sea

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14
Q

what do swell waves look like?

A

lower height and longer wave length

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15
Q

what waves affect coasts which face open oceans?

A

swell waves

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16
Q

what waves affect coasts which do not face open oceans?

A

sea waves

17
Q

why bare sea waves more choppy than swell waves?

A

they haven’t had time to separate so waves of several lengths arrive at the shore together eg. north sea

18
Q

describe how a wave changes as it approaches the shore?

A
  • wave becomes more elliptical in shape due to the shelving (steeper) sea bed causing the base of the wave to slow down due to friction
  • The crest isn’t affected so continues at the same speed which is faster than the new speed of the base. This means that the crest rises
  • the wave continues the steepen until it reaches a ratio of 1:7 (wave height to wave length) after which it breaks and water rushes up the beach as swash
19
Q

what are waves which reach the shore known as?

A

waves of translation

20
Q

describe a spilling breaker

A

occur on gentle beach gradients with steep waves. the gradual peaking of the wave leads to the crest becoming unstable. gentle spilling of wave crest

21
Q

describe a plunging breaker

A

occur on steeper beach gradients with medium height waves. waves peak to vertical height appearance, curls over and plunges forwards and downwards

22
Q

describe a surging wave

A

occur on very steep beach gradients with gentle waves. waves don’t break and slide up the beach in a smooth motion

23
Q

give some examples of characteristics of destructive waves

A
  • usually created due to long fetch and powerful sustained windy periods
  • short wave length and steep waves
  • backwash is stronger than swash so material is eroded of the beach
  • creates a steep beach profile
  • has a plunging spill onto the beach
  • ridge of shingle deposited at the rear of the beach
24
Q

what is the wave frequency of a destructive wave?

A

10.14 per minute

25
Q

give some examples of characteristics of constructive waves

A
  • low waves with long wave length (can be upto to 100m)
  • gentle spill onto the beach ]
  • gentle beach profile
  • berms are created via swash
  • strong swash and weak backwash
26
Q

what is the wave frequency of constructive waves?

A

6-8 per min

27
Q

describe the process of wave refraction

A

where waves approach a irregular coastline they are refracted. Waves slow down in the shallow water in front of a headland because of friction with the sea bed so waves in deeper water move ahead

28
Q

what are orthogonals?

A

lines which are drawn at right angles to the wave crests and show how wave energy is concentrated upon a headland, enhancing erosion

29
Q

how does wave refraction help to maintain bay beaches?

A

sets up longshore currents that move sediment from the headlands into the bays forming bay beaches

30
Q

what is the wave period?

A

the time taken for one wave to travel through one wave length

31
Q

what is wave velocity and how do you calculate it?

A

speed of movement of the wave crest. It can be calculated by dividing the average wave length by the average wave period

32
Q

what is wave frequency?

A

the number of waves that break on the beach in a given time

33
Q

how do you calculate wave steepness?

A

wave height/wave length however it cant exceed 1:7 because this is when it breaks

A2 Geography- Coasts (9 decks)

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