Coastal landscapes in UK 🏞️

Question 1

Abrasion (or corrasion)

Answer 1

The wearing away of cliffs by sediment flung by breaking waves.

Question 2

Arch

Answer 2

A wave-eroded passage through a small headland. This begins as a cave formed
in the headland, which is gradually widened and deepened until it cuts through.

Question 3

Attrition

Answer 3

Erosion caused when rocks and boulders transported by waves bump into each
other and break up into smaller pieces.

Question 4

Bar

Answer 4

Where a spit grows across a bay, a bay bar can eventually enclose the bay to
create a lagoon. Bars can also form offshore due to the action of breaking
waves

Question 5

Beach

Answer 5

The zone of deposited material that extends from the low water line to the limit
of storm waves. The beach or shore can be divided in the foreshore and the
backshore.

Question 6

Beach nourishment

Answer 6

The addition of new material to a beach artificially, through the dumping of large
amounts of sand or shingle.

Question 7

Beach reprofiling

Answer 7

Changing the profile or shape of the beach. It usually refers to the direct transfer
of material from the lower to the upper beach or, occasionally, the transfer of
sand down the dune face from crest to toe.

Question 8

Cave

Answer 8

A large hole in the cliff caused by waves forcing their way into cracks in the cliff
face.

Question 9

Chemical weathering

Answer 9

The decomposition (or rotting) of rock caused by a chemical change within that
rock; sea water can cause chemical weathering of cliffs.

Question 10

Cliff

Answer 10

A steep high rock face formed by weathering and erosion along the coastline.

Question 11

Deposition

Answer 11

Occurs when material being transported by the sea is dropped due to the sea
losing energy.

Question 12

Dune regeneration

Answer 12

Action taken to build up dunes and increase vegetation to strengthen the dunes
and prevent excessive coastal retreat. This includes the re-planting of marram
grass to stabilise the dunes, as well as planting trees and providing boardwalks.

Question 13

Erosion

Answer 13

The wearing away and removal of material by a moving force, such as a
breaking wave

Question 14

Gabion

Answer 14

Steel wire mesh filled with boulders used in coastal defences.

Question 15

Groyne

Answer 15

A wooden barrier built out into the sea to stop the longshore drift of sand and
shingle, and so cause the beach to grow. It is used to build beaches to protect
against cliff erosion and provide an important tourist amenity. However, by
trapping sediment it deprives another area, down-drift, of new beach material.

Question 16

Hard engineering

Answer 16

The use of concrete and large artificial structures by civil engineers to defend
land against natural erosion processes.

Question 17

Headlands and bays

Answer 17

A rocky coastal promontory made of rock that is resistant to erosion; headlands
lie between bays of less resistant rock where the land has been eroded back by
the sea.

Question 18

Hydraulic power

Answer 18

The process by which breaking waves compress pockets of air in cracks in a cliff.
The pressure may cause the crack to widen, breaking off rock.

Question 19

Longshore drift

Answer 19

The zigzag movement of sediment along a shore caused by waves going up the
beach at an oblique angle(wash) and returning at right angles(backwash). This
results in the gradual movement of beach materials along the coast.

Question 20

Managed retreat

Answer 20

Allowing cliff erosion to occur as nature taking its course: erosion in some areas,
deposition in others. Benefits include less money spent and the creation of
natural environments. It may involve setting back or realigning the shoreline and
allowing the sea to flood areas that were previously protected by embankments
and seawalls.

Question 21

Mass movement

Answer 21

The downhill movement of weathered material under the force of gravity. The
speed can vary considerably.

Question 22

Mechanical weathering

Answer 22

Weathering processes that cause physical disintegration or break up of exposed
rock without any change in the chemical composition of the rock, for instance
freeze thaw.

Question 23

Rock armour

Answer 23

Large boulders dumped on the beach as part of the coastal defences.

Question 24

Sand dune

Answer 24

Coastal sand hill above the high tide mark, shaped by wind action, covered with
grasses and shrubs.

Question 25

Sea wall

Answer 25

A concrete wall which aims to prevent erosion of the coast by providing a barrier
which reflects wave energy.

Question 26

Sliding

Answer 26

Occurs after periods of heavy rain when loose surface material becomes
saturated and the extra weight causes the material to become unstable and
move rapidly downhill, sometimes in an almost fluid state.

Question 27

Slumping

Answer 27

Rapid mass movement which involves a whole segment of the cliff moving
down-slope along a saturated shear-plane or line of weakness.

Question 28

Soft engineering

Answer 28

Managing erosion by working with natural processes to help restore beaches and
coastal ecosystems.

Question 29

Spit

Answer 29

A depositional landform formed when a finger of sediment extends from the
shore out to sea, often at a river mouth. It usually has a curved end because of
opposing winds and currents

Question 30

Stack

Answer 30

An isolated pillar of rock left when the top of an arch has collapsed. Over time
further erosion reduces the stack to a smaller, lower stump.

Question 31

Transportation

Answer 31

The movement of eroded material.

Question 32

Wave cut platform

Answer 32

A rocky, level shelf at or around sea level representing the base of old, retreated
cliffs.

Question 33

Waves

Answer 33

Ripples in the sea caused by the transfer of energy from the wind blowing over
the surface of the sea. The largest waves are formed when winds are very
strong, blow for lengthy periods and cross large expanses of water.