Coasts

Question 1

What are tide?

Answer 1

Regular rise and fall movement of sea levels

Question 2

How are tides and waves formed/caused?

Answer 2

Tides are caused/ affected by the moon/gravity and waves are formed by wind

Question 3

What indicates the direction to which the wave will hit the coast

Answer 3

direction of the wind

Question 4

what are waves?

Answer 4

surface movements of water caused by the wind - with the exception of tsunami waves. waves represent the transfer of energy

Question 5

What factors affect the size and energy of waves

Answer 5

• how long the wind has been blowing
• strength of the wind
• length of fetch; how long it has travelled
• prevailing wind

Question 6

describe the swash movement of waves

Answer 6

as the wave reaches the shor, it breaks. the white foamy water that flows up the beach is the swash

Question 7

describe the backwash movement of waves

Answer 7

when the water runs out of speed, it stops and flows back down the beach into the sea

Question 8

what are characteristics of constructive waves

Answer 8

• strong wash and weak backwash
• calm weather
• limited energy; mostly used by swash

Question 9

what are characteristics of destructive waves

Answer 9

• weak swash and strong backwash
• lots of erosion
• storm weather
• lots of energy

Question 10

what are the types of erosion

Answer 10

hydraulic action, solution, attrition, abrasion

Question 11

what is hydraulic action

Answer 11

the pure force of water hitting the coast and breaking

Question 12

what is solution

Answer 12

when sea water dissolves certain types of rocks

Question 13

what is attrition

Answer 13

when rocks that the sea is carrying are knocked against each other

Question 14

what is abrasion

Answer 14

when pebbles and small rocks grind along a rock platform

Question 15

how are cliffs formed?

Answer 15

• cliffs are formed by hydraulic action; is caused by air compression into the cracks deepening the notch and creating an overhanging side that collapses
• abrasion also takes place; waves are wearing out materials
• rocks are dissolved
• as the waves break into the coast, they cut a notch in a rock
• when the notch gets deeper, the rock collapses and this process continues and the coastline retreats inwards

Question 16

what is a bay

Answer 16

a wide deep opening into the coastline

Question 17

what is a headland

Answer 17

a piece of land projecting out into the sea

Question 18

how are bays and headlands form

Answer 18

• different types of rocks occur along the coastline
• softer rocks are eroded quickly, creating the bay
• harder rocks are eroded slowly and so stick out onto the sea

Question 19

how are caves, arches, stacks and stumps formed?

Answer 19

• the large crack (consequence of hydraulic action) grows into a cave
• the cave becomes larger and breaks to form an arch
• arch erodes and colapses, leaving a tall rock (aka stack)
• stack erodes and forms a stump

Question 20

describe transportation of longshore drift

Answer 20

it moves the materials along the beach. this occurs when the waves approach the beach at an angle

Question 21

describe transportation in swash and backwash

Answer 21

brings materials onto the beach when the backwash brings it back down to the sea in a straight line (forms a zig zag)

Question 22

what is a sand dune

Answer 22

a sand dune is a hill of sand which form above the high tide level

Question 23

how is a bar/ sand spit formed

Answer 23

It is formed due to longshore drift transporting sediment along the coastline.

Question 24

how is a sand dune formed

Answer 24

wind dries the sand on the beach and it is then blown inland until it is trapped

Question 25

examples of hard engineering in coastal management

Answer 25

sea wall, rock armor, groynes, gabions

Question 26

qualities of hard engineering

Answer 26

permanent, not cheap, ugly, not sustainable as can cause damage

Question 27

describe hard engineering

Answer 27

traditional method of coastal defence used to stop or absorb wave energy

Question 28

types of coastal defence examples

Answer 28

groynes, gabions, sea wall, rock armor, beach nourishment, managed retreat, cliff stabilisation

Question 29

describe soft engineering

Answer 29

attempts to work with natural forces

Question 30

qualities of soft engineering

Answer 30

cheaper, prettier, sometimes self sustainable

Question 31

examples of soft engineering

Answer 31

beach nourishment, managed retreat, cliff stabilisation

Question 32

what are the four types of coastal transportation

Answer 32

traction, saltation, suspension, solution

Question 33

describe traction transportation

Answer 33

large material is rolled along the sea floor

Question 34

describe solution transportation

Answer 34

minerals are dissolved in the water

Question 35

describe saltation transportation

Answer 35

beach material bounces around sea floor

Question 36

describe suspension transportation

Answer 36

beach material is suspended and carried by waves