Coastal Landscapes in the UK Flashcards
(95 cards)
1
Q
What is erosion
A
The wearing away and removal of material by a moving force
2
Q
What are the four types of erosion
A
Attrition
Abrasion
Solution
Hydraulic action
3
Q
What is abrasion
A
Rocks carried along a riverwear down the riverbed and banks.
4
Q
What is another definition of abrasion
A
The sandpaper affect of glacial ice scouring a valley’s floors and sides. This is pebbles grinding a rocky platform
5
Q
What is attrition
A
Rocks carried by the river, then smash and break together, releasing small and tiny particles
6
Q
What is solution
A
The dissolving of rocks such as limestone and chalk via seawater
7
Q
What is hydraulic action
A
The process where breaking waves compress air in cliff cracks. Due to a high pressure the crack is widened, breaking the rock
8
Q
What is deposition
A
When material is dropped by the sea, losing energy
9
Q
What are examples of depositional landforms
A
Beaches
Spit
Bars
Sand dunes
10
Q
What are two types of beaches
A
Sand beaches
Shingle beaches
11
Q
What is the difference between both beaches
A
They are both shown as yellow beaches, however shingle beaches are also shown as white sometimes
12
Q
What is a beach
A
A zone of deposited material that extends from the low water line to limit of storm waves
13
Q
What is a spit
A
Depositional landform when a finger of sediment extends from shore out to sea, often at a river mouth
14
Q
What is a bar
A
When a spit grows across a bar.
15
Q
What is a salt marsh
A
An important natural habitat found in sheltered river estuaries behind spits with short flow of water
16
Q
What is longshore drift
A
Transport of sediment along a stretch of coastline caused by waves, approaching the beach at an angle
17
Q
What is a headland
A
Highpoint of land made of rock, that is erosion resistant. Headlands lie between bays of less resistant rock, where land is eroded by the sea
18
Q
What is a bay
A
A wide coastal inlet, often with a beach, where areas of less resistant rock are eroded into the sea
19
Q
What is a landform
A
Physical feature of Earth’s surface
20
Q
What are the four types of coastal transportation
A
Solution
Traction
Suspension
Saltation
21
Q
What is saltation
A
Hopping movement of pebbles down a riverbed
22
Q
What is suspension
A
Small particles carried in river flow
23
Q
What is traction
A
Heavy particles rolled along a seabed
24
Q
What is a wave cut platform
A
Rocky level shelf around the sea, representing an old and retreated cliff
25
How is a wave cut platform formed
1. Waves release most of their erosive energy
2. The area of the cliff targeted to erosion is the point where the waves break
3. A wave cut notch is formed, and is carved into the cliff where the waves break
4. The overhanging cliff will become unstable and unsupported
5. The overhanging rock will collapse
6. This leaves a wave cut platform which will not erode due to abrasion
26
What is a cave
A large hole in a cliff caused by waves forcing their way into cracks in the cliff face
27
What is an arch
A wave eroded passage through a small headland.
28
What is a stack
An isolated rock pillar
29
How are cracks, caves, arches, stumps and stacks formed
1. Abrasion and hydraulic action widen the joint, which forms a cave
2. Erosion leads to back to back caves, breaking through a headland to create an arch
3. The arch is enlarged by erosion and weathering processes which make the top of the arch collapse
4. This leaves a stack
5. The stack erodes and collapses, leaving a stump
30
What is weathering
Weakening or decay of rocks in their original place
31
What are the 3 main types of weathering
Physical
Chemical
Biological
32
What is chemical weathering
Weathering caused by climate change
33
What is biological weathering
Weathering caused by living things
34
What is physical weathering
Weathering caused by rock movements
35
What is freeze thaw weathering
Weathering in a glacial environment, involving repeated cycles of freezing and thawing, making rock cracks bigger
36
What is salt weathering
Weathering where salt crystals grow and expand in cracks and holes in the rock
37
What is mass movement
Movement of material downslope due to gravity.
38
What are the 4 types of mass movement
Rotational slip
Mudflow
Landslide
Rockfall
39
What is rotational slip
A slump of saturated soil and weak rock along a curved surface
40
What are landslides
Rocks sliding downhill
41
What is rockfall
Rock fragments breaking away from the cliff face
42
What is mudflow
Saturated soil and weak rock flowing down a slope
43
What are the two types of waves
Constructive
Destructive
44
What is a constructive wave
A powerful wave with a strong swash that surges up a beach
45
What is a destructive wave
A wave formed by a local storm, crashing down onto a beach with a strong backwash
46
What is swash
Forward movement of a wave
47
What is backwash
Water flowing towrads the sea after the swash has moved up shore
48
What are the characteristics of a constructive wave
Strong swash
Weak backwash
Long wavelength
Relatively low height
49
What are the characteristics of a destructive wave
Weak swash
Strong backwash
Short wavelength
Relatively high height
50
What are the 3 factors affecting a wave's power
Fetch
Wind time
Wind speed
51
What is another word for fetch
Wind distance
52
What is fetch
Length of water over where a wind has blown
53
What is wind speed
How fast the wave is
54
What is wind time
How long the wave takes to blow
55
What are the 2 types of coastlines
Concordant
Discordant
56
What is a concordant coastline
They are horizontal with layers. Rock layers run parallel to the sea
57
What is a discordant coastline
Rock layers run perpendicular to the sea. They are vertical and vary as you go along
58
What landforms are found on discordant coastlines
Headlands
Bays
59
What are two types of coastal management
Soft engineering
Hard engineering
60
What is hard engineering
A coastal management technique that goes against coastal processes (eg: erosion, abrasion). It is when expensive artificial structures are used for protection, that don't work well for the environment.
61
What are the four types of hard engineering
Gabions
Groynes
Sea walls
Rock armour
62
What are groynes
Wooden or stone structures built in the fore shore. They look like fences and walls. They are spaced at regular intervals, approx 50m apart. They trap sediment via longshore drift. They are made of hardwood timber.
63
What are gabions
Steel wire mesh cages filled with pebbles or rocks. They are placed at the back of sandy beaches to create a low wall like structure.
64
What are sea walls
Barriers that separate waves and land. It is placed at the back of the beach.
65
What is rock armour
(Rip rap). It is made up of thousands of tonnes of huge boulders or hard rock such as granite. They act as a barrier between sea and land.
66
What are the advantages of sea walls
1. Keeps home and property safe from erosion
2. Reduces and prevents erosion and flooding on shoreline
3. Prevents land erosion of shorefront property
4. Offers increased safety for residents and visitors
5. Prevents/minimises flooding due to storm surges and changes in lake levels
67
What are disadvantages of sea walls
1. Expensive repairs
2. Ugly looks
3. Disruption of animal habitat
4. Waves reflecting at the bottom can erode foundations
68
What are advantages of rock armour
1. Good looks
2. Cheaper than sea walls
3. Easy maintenance
4. Doesn't impede access along beach or for fishing
5. Absorbs and deflects wave impact, reducing the erosion effect around structures or on the coastline
69
What are disadvantages of rock armour
1. Requires maintenance as rocks can be worn down or shifted by waves
2. Expensive and difficulties in transport and building boulders
3. Disruption of natural habitat, can negatively affect them
4. Poor aesthetics
70
What are advantages of gabions
1. Easy handling
2. Easy transport
3. Easy construction
4. Flexible, can tolerate movement and settlement
5. Permeable, allow water drainage
6. Durable, resistant to corrosion and weathering
7. Cost effective
8. Low required maintenance
71
What are disadvantages of gabions
1. High instillation costs
2. Difficulties for installing
3. If not properly installed, they can fail quickly and contribute to erosion
4. Requires large equipment
5. Increases water flow and erosion when stabilizing riverbanks
6. Low habitat value
7. Unsightly
8. Subject to heavy ware and tear due to abrasion
72
What are advantages of groynes
1. Easy beach construction
2. Longshore drift keeps beach detritus from drifting down the coast
3. Long term endurance
4. Potential to absorb wave energy
5. Enriched sediments
73
What are disadvantages of groynes
1. Expensive to create
2. Weak maintenance
3. Reflects energy instead of absorbing energy, making them less durable and ineffective during stormy conditions
4. Affects nearby boat traffic and shore line by preventing longshore drift
5. Unattractive looks
74
What is soft engineering
A coastal management technique that works with coastal processes. It is less expensive, however can take a long time to be established and isn't always suitable in every situation
75
What are four examples of soft engineering
Sand dune regeneration
Beach recycling
Beach reprofiling
Beach recharging
76
What is sand dune regeneration
Creates new sand dunes, or restores existing ones. They act as a physical barrier between sea and land, and absorb wave energy and water, protecting the land from the sea.
77
What is beach recycling
Sediment taken from a bag and placed onto a beach, losing sand. This occurs every summer in Pevensey Bay. Longshore drift removes 20000 cubic metres of sediment per year.
78
What is beach recharging
Removes sand from an area further down the coast, which has build up of sand from longshore drift
79
What is beach reprofiling
Artificial reshaping of a beach using existing beach material
80
What are the advantages of beach reprofiling
1. Cheap and simple
2. Reduces energy of the waves
3. Protects private and public structures around the beach
4. Creates a safer environment
5. Widens the beach to create more usage opportunities
81
What are disadvantages of beach reprofiling
1. Only works with low wave energy
2. Needs to be repeated a lot
3. Beach must be closed during reprofiling, impacting local people, tourists and businesses.
4. Difficult to find materials
5. Restricted beach access
82
What are advantages of sand dune regeneration
1. Provides a barrier between land and sea
2. Absorbs wave energy
3. Provides cheap stabilization
4. Maintains a natural looking coastline
5. Increased biodiversity
83
What are disadvantages of sand dune regeneration
No guarantee that sand dunes will stay in place
84
What are advantages of beach recycling
1. Clean beaches for people to use
2. No rubbish laying around
3. Decreased pollution
4. Safe, tidy beaches
5. Sediment is added
85
What are disadvantages of beach recycling
1. More sediment added can bury marine life
2. Sand must be brought in elsewhere
3. People can be restricted from using the beach for several weeks due to maintenance
4. Large storms
5. Marine ecosystem is negatively impacted due to offshore dredging of sand and shingle, resulting in increased erosion
86
What are advantages of beach recharging
1. Widens the beach, creates more usage opportunities
2. Renourishment protects the public and private structures behind the beach
3. Safer environment
4. Project helps to protect the ecosystem of the shore
5. Developed foundation for a larger, permanent beach for the future
87
What are the disadvantages of beach recharging
1. Difficult to find materials
2. When new sediments are added, marine life can be buried
3. Public has restricted access
4. Locations require a repeated renourishment for effective work
88
What is an example of an arch
Durdle Door
89
What is Swanage
A seaside town in Dorset located on the south of England. It is located in a sheltered bay with a broad sandy beach. It is a classic stretch of coastline with impressive landforms of coastal erosion and deposition. It is a discordant coastline
90
What landforms occur at Swanage
Headlands
Bays
91
What is Lyme Regis
A small coastal town on the south of England. It lies at the heart of the World Heritage Site (Jurassic Coast)
92
What is Lyme Regis famous for
Fossils
93
What are the strategies used at Lyme Regis
Wide sand and shingle beach would absorb wave energy
Rock armour to protect the harbour wall
Its also placed in front of the sea to absorb wave energy and retain the beach
94
What landform is Old Harry
A rock stack.
His wife is a smaller stack
95
What is Holbeck Hall
A landslide located in Scarborough in North Yorkshire.
Between 3rd June and 5th June 1993, a disaster occurred, causing it to collapse
