coastal landscapes Flashcards
(157 cards)
Discordant coast example
West Cork, Ireland (headland and bay) Clear Island (detached island)
Concordant coast example
Lulworth cove, Dorest (Bay)
Croatia - Dalmatian Coastline
Baltic Sea, Germany - Haff coastline
Rock coastline example
Conochair Outer Hebrides, highest cliff in UK
sandy coastline example
Belgium 65km strech
estuarine coastline example
Severn Estuary Wales
Sand Dunes example
Braunton Burrows, UK
one of the largest systems in the UK, 400 plant species, 60 lichen species.
Conflict between nature conservation and local estate on issue of grazing
Bar example
Chesil Beach Dorset
Tombolo example
Portland Bill Dorest
Cupsate Foreland example
Dugeness Kent
Spit example
Hurst Castle, Hampshire
Define Littoral Zone
The wider coastal zone ranging from adjacent land areas to shallow offshore areas,
Closed system in dynamic equilibrium
Eleven littoral zones in England and Wales, separated by topography and landforms such as peninsulas.
Sections of a littoral zone
Backshore - above high tide, only effected by waves during storms
Foreshore- between high and low tide, main wave activity.
Nearshore- intense human activity e.g fishing, shallow water, transfer of sediment by currents (physical system)
Offshore - deep water, limited activity
Rocky coastline characteristics
Formed from cliffs of variable hardness, dominated by erosion and transportation, destructive waves (high energy coast) long fetch abrupt transition from land to sea storm conditions are common caves, arches, stacks, wavecut platform
Sandy Coastline features
Can be sandy or estuarine Gentle transition from land to sea Dominated by deposition constructive waves (low energy) short fetch beaches, bars, sand dunes, mudflats
Formation process classification
primary coasts - dominated by land processes
secondary coasts - dominated by marine based processes
Relative sea level change classification
Emergent coasts - coasts rising relative to sea level
Submergent coasts - coasts flooded by sea.
Change can be isostatic (land moving relative to sealevel) or eustatic (sea moving relative to land)
Tidal range classification
Microtidal - 0-2m
mesotidal 2-4m
macrotidal above 4m
wave energy classification
low energy - sheltered coast, low wind and limited fetch= small waves
high energy- exposed coast, prevailing winds, long fetch = powerful waves.
cliff profile definition
The height, angle and features on a cliff face.
cliff profile types
marine erosion dominated - steep face, active undercuting, limited cliff debirs, constant erosion and transportation of material away from the cliff base.
sub-aerial process dominated - gently sloping profile, accumulated debris, limited erosion at base.
Erosion resistance of rock type influences
- how reactive minerals are in rocks when exposed to chemical weathering
- clastic or cystalline
coastal accretion definition
The deposition of sediment, being stabilised by vegetation, causing the seaward growth of the coastline.
geological structure
The arrangement of rocks in three dimensions.
strata- the different layers of rock and how they relate to each other.
deformation- the degree to which rock units have been tilted/folded by tectonic activity.
faulting- the presence of major fractures that have moved rock from their original position.
freeze-thaw weathering
mechanical, water expands by 9% in volume when freezing exerting a force to widen cracks, repeated cycles.
any rocks with cracks/fissures away from salt spray, relatively uncommon in UK