Coasts Flashcards

1
Q

what are the two main movements of a wave

A

swashs and backwash

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2
Q

what is swash

A

when the wave hits the beach

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3
Q

what is backwash

A

water being pulled back into the ocean

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4
Q

the formation and process of a wave

A
  • wave starts at sea
  • friction between wind and sea moves water inland
  • particles move in a circular motion
  • increasing friction between water and beach as it gets closer
  • particles move in an elliptical motion
  • top of waves becomes high, steep and topples over
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5
Q

what is a constructive wave

A

strong swash

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6
Q

what is a destructive wave

A

strong backwash

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7
Q

characteristics of a constructive wave

A
  • wave crests far apart
  • 6 to 8 waves a min
  • gentle sloping beaches
  • breaking wave spills forwards
  • deposition (build up of material)
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8
Q

characteristics of a destructive wave

A
  • wave crests close together
  • 13 to 15 waves a min
  • steep beaches
  • breaking wave plunges downwards
  • erosion (takes away material)
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9
Q

what is mass movement

A

mass movement is lots of sedimented soil and rock moving in a short period of time

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10
Q

four methods of transportation in order of how heavy the materials are that they carry

A
  • traction (heavy boulders)
  • saltation (pebbles and small stones)
  • suspension (fine grains of sediment and sand)
  • solution (boulders to fine grains)
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11
Q

what is traction

A

the transportation of large boulders and rocks being rolled along the river bed (bedload)

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12
Q

what is saltation

A

the transportation of small pebbles and stones being bounced along the river bed as they are alternatively lifted and dropped

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13
Q

what is suspension

A

the transportation of fine light material being held up and carried within the rivers flow (suspended flow)

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14
Q

what is solution

A

when minerals are dissolved in water which causes chemical changes that affect soft rocks like limestone (solute load)

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15
Q

what is longshore drift

A
  • longshore drift is a a type of erosional marine process - where the movement of material along a coast by waves come in at an acute angle
  • and retracts from the coastline perpendicularly
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16
Q

what does longshore drift do

A
  • it deposits material at the corner of the coast

- creating spits

17
Q

process of longshore drift

A
  • prevailing wind blows waves to beach at an angle
  • when wave breaks, swash moves material further up beach at that angle
  • backwash retracts wave transporting material with it perpendicularly
  • zig zag movement moves material along the beach
  • at the end of the beach, material is deposited to create a spit
18
Q

is LSD good for protecting a cliff from erosion and why

A
  • no, it isnt
  • because material transported with waves crashes against cliff face which erodes it
  • the waves also contribute to the erosion with hydraulic action
  • as waves are coming from an angle there is more horizontal erosion
19
Q

what words describe the movement of a wave after it has crashed on the beach

A
  • swash, as it crashes and travels unto the beach

- backwash, as it retracts back to the sea