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Geography Key Terms > Coasts > Flashcards

Coasts Flashcards

1
Q

What is the littoral zone

A

the zone from the highest tide mark to the permanently submerged areas

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2
Q

What makes up the littoral zone

A
  1. in land
  2. backshore
  3. foreshore
  4. nearshore
  5. offshore
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3
Q

What are the types of coasts

A
  1. rocky coasts
  2. coastal plains
  3. high and low energy coast
  4. erosional and depositional coasts
  5. reef coasts
  6. deltaic coast (dominated by river sediment)
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4
Q

What are emergent coasts

A

when sea levels fall, leaving behind more land

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5
Q

What are submergent coasts

A

when sea levels rise, inundating the land

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6
Q

What are characteristics of igneous rocks

A
  1. crystaline
  2. resistant
  3. impermeable
  4. rate of recession = 1mm/year
  5. cooled and solidified magma or lava
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7
Q

What are the characteristics of sedimentary rocks

A
  1. jointed sedimentary (sand+limestone) are permeable
  2. porous (chalk)
  3. but shale is fine and compacted=impermeable
  4. recession rate = 1cm-1m/year
  5. formed in strata
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8
Q

What are the characteristics of unconsolidated material

A
  1. easily eroded
  2. if compacted an impermeable layer is formed in strata
  3. recession rate = 1m+/year
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9
Q

What are the characteristics of metamorphic rocks

A
  1. hard
  2. resistant
  3. impermeable
  4. recrystalization in a solid state
  5. formed when igneous or sedimentary rocks are either compressed or heated
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10
Q

What is a concordant/Pacific coastline

A

when strata is parallel to the coast

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11
Q

What is a discordant/Atlantic coastline

A

when strata is perpendicular to the coast

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12
Q

what is lithology

A

rock type:
1. composition
2. what minerals are inside
3. type of rock

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13
Q

what is geological structure

A

the arrangement of the rock

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14
Q

what is strata

A

the layers of rock

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15
Q

what are bedding planes

A
  1. natural horizontal cracks and breaks in strata
  2. caused by gaps in time formed during periods of rock formation
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16
Q

What are joints

A
  1. vertical cracks and fractures
  2. caused by either contraction as sediments dry, or earth movement during uplift
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17
Q

What are faults

A
  1. large cracks formed when pressure or stress is subjected to a rock
  2. this happens when the rock exceeds its internal strength, allowing the fault to move along the fault plain
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18
Q

What are folds

A
  1. curves in rock
  2. caused when pressure from tectonic activity buckles and crumples the rock
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19
Q

What is the dip of strata

A

the angle at which strata lies

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20
Q

What types of cliffs do horizontal strata produce

A

steep-sided cliffs

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21
Q

What type of cliffs do seaward dipping strata produce

A

steep-sided cliffs that are more susceptible rowards mass movement

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22
Q

What types of cliffs do landward dipping strata produce

A

stable, steep-sided cliffs

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23
Q

What are dalmatian coastlines

A

narrow lines of islands seperated by narrow sea channels

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24
Q

What are Haff coastlines

A

long shallow lagoons seperated from the sea by a narrow sand bar or barrier beach

25
Q

How are embryo dunes formed

A

sand gathers around obstacles on the strand line

26
Q

what is the fetch

A

the distance from open water over which the wind blows

27
Q

How do embryo dunes develop into fore and then yellow dunes

A

more sand accumulates, and plant diversity increases

28
Q

How are climax communities formed

A

after a series of plant changes

29
Q

What is the term for sand dune succession

A

psammosere succession

30
Q

What is the term for salt marsh development

A

halosere succession

31
Q

What are salt marshes

A

coastal wetlands which are flooded and drained by salt water from tides

32
Q

Why are salt marshes marshy

A

soil could be composed of deep mud and peat

33
Q

What is peat made of

A

decomposing plant metter, often several feet thick

34
Q

What are the characteristics of peat

A
  1. waterlogged
  2. root-filled
  3. very spongy
35
Q

what is wave refraction

A

when waves bend as they move over different depths

36
Q

what is a seidment cell

A

a self contained stretch of coastline

37
Q

how are drift aligned beaches formed

A

waves break perpendicular to the coast

38
Q

how are swash aligned beaches formed

A

waves break parallel to the coast

39
Q

what is mechanical weathering

A

the break down of rocks due to an exersion of physical force

40
Q

What is biological weathering

A

the process of speeding up mechanical or chemical weathering through the actions of organisms

41
Q

what is chemical weathering

A

the breakdown of rocks through chemical reactions, resulting in a new chemical compound

42
Q

what is mass movement

A

the downslope movement of sediment due to gravity

43
Q

what is mass movement dependent on

A
  1. geology
  2. marine processes
  3. weathering
  4. water content
  5. saturation
  6. density
44
Q

what is rockfall

A

pieces of rock falls off the cliff face due to weathering (usually freeze-thaw)

45
Q

what is mudflow

A

when saturated soil flows downhill

46
Q

what is a landslide

A

when large blocks of rock slide downhill

47
Q

what is a rotational slip/slump

A

when saturated soil slumps down a curved surface

48
Q

what is scree

A

broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff

49
Q

what is dynamic equilibrium

A

a state of constant change to keep balance

50
Q

what cause short-term changes to sea level

A
  1. tides
  2. low pressure systems
  3. strong winds
51
Q

What is eustatic change

A

the exchange of water between oceans and ice sheets/glaciers

52
Q

what is isostatic change

A

when the Earth’s crust changes to seek equilibrium after the (un)loading of ice

53
Q

How do tectonic processes change the sea level

A

displace the crust

54
Q

what is accretion

A

when new land mass is created through the addition of sediment

55
Q

what is subsidence

A

small scale land sinkage

56
Q

what is the thermohaline circulation

A

a large scale movement of sea water

57
Q

what is thermal expansion

A

as water gets hotter, it expands

58
Q

what is adaptation in regard to flooding

A

making changes to reduce the impacts of flooding when it occurs

Geography Key Terms (8 decks)

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