Why are coastal landscapes different and what processes cause these differences? Flashcards
What is the littoral zone?
The boundary between land and sea which stretches out into the sea and onto the shore
What are the sub zones of the littoral zone?
coast backshore foreshore nearshore offshore
Two main types of coasts
- rocky (or cliffed) coastlines with cliffs varying in height from a few meters to hundreds of meters
- coastal plains (with no cliffs) where the land gently slopes towards the sea across an area of deposited sediment, often in the form of sand dunes and mud flats
primary coasts
dominated by land- based processes, such as deposition at the coast from rivers or new coastal land formed from lava flows
secondary coasts
dominated by marine erosion or deposition processes
emergent coasts
where the coast is rising relative to sea level, for example as a result of tectonic uplift
submergent coasts
are being flooded by the sea either because of sea level rise and/ or subsiding land
low wave energy
sheltered coasts with limited fetch and low wind speeds resulting in small waves
high energy waves
exposed coasts with limited fetch and low wind speeds resulting in small waves
what are subaerial processes?
the processes of weathering and mass movement
long and short term ways to classify coasts
long term
- geology
- sea level rise/ change
short term
- wave energy
- wave type
describe the geology across the UK
- eastern and southern coasts consist of weaker and younger sedimentary rock e.g chalk
mud flats, beaches etc - above the tees and exe line is harder igneous and metamorphic rock
cliffs and rough landscapes
What is accretion?
it refers to the deposition of sediment at a coast that expands the area of land
strata
the different layers of rock exposed in a cliff
deformation
tilting and folding by tectonic activity
