Y10 Coasts Revision Flashcards
What is weathering?
The decay or disintegration of rocks from their original place on, or next to, the ground surface.
Mostly caused by weather factors such as rainfall or temperature change.
What is erosion?
The gradual wearing away of sediment with movement overtime through ice, wind and rivers.
What are the types of erosion?
Hydraulic action
Abrasion
Attrition
Solution
What is deposition?
The process of water, ice wind or gravity depositing sediment in a new place.
Occurs when the velocity of the water decreases and energy is reduced so the water can no longer hold all its material
What factors affect the rate of weathering?
Type of rock
Climate
What is mechanical weathering?
Process through which rocks are physically broken into smaller pieces.
How do plants weather rocks?
When roots grow into the cracks of rocks and expand the rock
What two processes form a spit?
Longshore Drift
Deposition
Examples of hard engineering?
Sea walls
Rock armour
Gabions
Groynes
Examples of soft engineering?
Beach nourishment
Managed retreat
Sand dune regeneration.
What are the properties of a constructive wave?
Low energy
Stronger swash than backwash (deposit sediment on beach)
What are the properties of a destructive wave?
High wave height
High wave frequency
Stronger backwash than swash
High energy / Fast
Created by a strong wind over a large fetch
What is traction?
Large rocks and boulders rolling across the sea bed
What is saltation?
Small pebbles and stones bouncing along the sea bed
What is solution (transportation)?
Dissolved minerals carried by the water
What is suspension?
Fine, light material such as clay carried by the water.
What is mass movement?
The downward movement of materials under the influence of gravity.
What is rockfall?
Bits of rock fall of the cliff face, usually due to freeze-thaw weathering.
What is mudflow?
Saturated soil (soil filled with water) flows down a slope.
What is rotational slip?
Saturated soil slumping down a curved surface.
What is landslide?
Large blocks of rock sliding down hill.
What is abrasion?
Sediment being thrown at the cliff face by the force of the waves, knocking pieces of rock into the water.
What is attrition?
The collision of sediment particles that break into smaller, more rounded pebbles.
What is solution (erosion)?
The process of acidic water dissolving soluble sediment.
What is hydraulic action?
Pockets of air and water being forced into the cliff by the water, then expanding, cracking the rock.
