Coastal Zone Vocab

Question 1

Arch

Answer 1

A headland that has been partly broken through by the sea to form a thin-roofed arch

Question 2

Attrition

Answer 2

The knocking together of pebbles making them gradually smaller and smoother

Question 3

Backwash

Answer 3

The backward movement of water down a beach when a wave has broken

Question 4

Bar

Answer 4

A split that has grown across a bay, trapping a freshwater lake or lagoon behind it

Question 5

Bay

Answer 5

A broad coastal inlet often with a beach

Question 6

Beach

Answer 6

A deposit of sand or shingle at the coast, often found at the head of a bay

Question 7

Beach depletion

Answer 7

The loss of beach material eg. by offshore dredging of shingle banks

Question 8

Cave

Answer 8

A hollowed-out feature at the base of an eroding cliff

Question 9

Constructive wave

Answer 9

A powerful wave with a strong Swash that surges up a beach

Question 10

Corrasion

Answer 10

The effect of rocks being flung at the cliff by powerful waves

Question 11

Crest

Answer 11

The top of a wave

Question 12

Destructive wave

Answer 12

A wave formed by a local storm that crashes down onto a beach and has a powerful backwash

Question 13

Fetch

Answer 13

The distance of open water over which the wind can blow

Question 14

Hard engineering

Answer 14

Building artificial structures such as sea walls, aimed at controlling natural processes

Question 15

Headland

Answer 15

A promontory of land jutting out into the sea

Question 16

Hydraulic power

Answer 16

The sheer power of the waves

Question 17

Longshore drift

Answer 17

The transport of sediment ALONG a stretch of coastline, caused by the waves approaching the beach at the same angle as the prevailing wind

Question 18

Managed retreat

Answer 18

Allowing the controlled flooding of low-lying costal areas or cliff collapse to occur in areas where the value of land is low

Question 19

Marine/coastal erosion

Answer 19

The wearing away of land and the removal of beach or dune sediments by waves and tides

Question 20

Mass movement

Answer 20

The downhill movement of material under the influence of gravity

Question 21

Pioneer plant

Answer 21

The first plant species to colonise an area that is well adapted to living in a harsh environment

Question 22

Prevailing wind

Answer 22

Winds that blow predominantly from a single direction

Question 23

Rockfall

Answer 23

The collapse of a cliff face or the fall of individual rocks from a cliff

Question 24

Saltation

Answer 24

A hopping movement of pebbles along the seabed

Question 25

Salt marsh

Answer 25

Low-lying coastal wetland mostly extending between high and low tide

Question 26

Shoreline Management Plan (SMP)

Answer 26

An integrated coastal management plan for a stretch of coastline in England and Wales

Question 27

Soft engineering

Answer 27

A sustainable approach to managing the coast without using artificial structures

Question 28

Solution (erosion)

Answer 28

The dissolving of rocks, such as limestone and chalk

Question 29

Solution (transportation)

Answer 29

The transport of dissolved chemicals

Question 30

Spit

Answer 30

A finger of new land made of sand or shingle, jutting out into the sea from the coast

Question 31

Stack

Answer 31

An isolated pinnacle of rock sticking out of the sea

Question 32

Stump

Answer 32

An eroded stack, exposed only at low tide and covered with water at high tide

Question 33

Suspension

Answer 33

Lighter particles are carried within the water

Question 34

Swash

Answer 34

The forward movement of a wave up a beach

Question 35

Traction

Answer 35

Heavy particles are rolled along the seabed

Question 36

Vegetation succession

Answer 36

A sequence of vegetation species colonising an environment

Question 37

Wave-cut notch

Answer 37

A small indentation (or notch) cut into a cliff roughly at the level of high tide, caused by concentrated marine erosion at this level

Question 38

Wave-cut platform

Answer 38

A wide, gently sloping rocky surface at the foot of a cliff

Question 39

Weathering

Answer 39

The disintegration or decay of rocks in their original place (in situ) at or close to the close to the ground surface

Question 40

Abrasion

Answer 40

The 'sandpapering' effect of pebbles grinding over a rocky platform, often causing it to become smooth