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Geography - Coasts > Coasts > Flashcards

Coasts Flashcards

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1
Q

What type of system is a coast?

A

Considered a open system as it receives inputs from outside the system and transfers outputs away from the coast

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1
Q

What is a sediment cell and what type of system is it?

A

A section of the coast and usually a closed system
11 in England and Wales

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2
Q

What is dynamic equilibrium in a sediment cell?

A

Where inputs and outputs of sediment are in a constant state of change but remain in balance

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3
Q

What are sources?

A

Where sediment originates from

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4
Q

What are through flows?

A

The movement of sediment along the shore - Long shore drift

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5
Q

What are sinks?

A

Locations where deposition of sediment dominates

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6
Q

What are feedback loops?

A

Mechanisms which enhance changes within a system, taking it away from dynamic equilibrium (positive feedback) or mechanisms which balances changes, taking the system back towards equilibrium (negative feedback)

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7
Q

What is a negative feedback loop?

A

Lessens any change which has occurred within the system

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8
Q

What is a positive feedback loop?

A

Exaggerates the change making the system more unstable and taking it away from dynamic equilibrium

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9
Q

What is the littoral zone?

A

The area of coast where land is subject to wave actions

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10
Q

Why is the littoral zone constantly changing?

A

Short-term factors: Tides and storm surges
Long-term factors: Changes in sea level and climate change

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11
Q

What are the subzones within the littoral zone?

A

Backshore - area above hide tide level and only affected by exceptionally hide tided
Foreshore - Land where most wave processes occur
Offshore - The open sea

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12
Q

What does Valentines classification describe?

A

The range of coastline that can occur

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13
Q

Why might there be an advancing coastline?

A

Due to the land emerging or deposition being the prominent process

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14
Q

Why might there be a retreating coastline?

A

Due to the land submerging or erosion being the prominent process

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15
Q

What is erosion?

A

A collaborative process which involves the removal of sediment from a coastline

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16
Q

What are the main types of erosion?

A

Abrasion - Sediment is moved along the coastline, causing it to be worn down overtime
Attrition - Wave action causes rocks to hit against each other
Hydraulic Action - Air forced into cracks from waves
Solution - Mildly acidic seawater causes rock to be eroded

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17
Q

When are erosion rates at their highest?

A

When waves have a long fetch
High tide
Heavy rainfall
In winter

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18
Q

What will determine a rocks vulnerability to erosion?

A

The resistance of the rock (lithology - type)

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19
Q

What are examples of erosional landforms?

A

Caves
Arches
Stacks
Stumps
Wave-cut notch and platform

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20
Q

What are the main types of transportation?

A

Traction - Large, heavy sediment rolls along the sea bed
Saltation - Smaller sediment bounces along the sea bed
Suspension - Small sediment is carrier with the water column
Solution - Dissolved material is carried within the water

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21
Q

When does deposition occur?

A

When a wave loses energy meaning the sediment becomes to heavy to carry - it is a gradual process

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22
Q

What is flocculation?

A

When clay particles clump together due to chemical attraction and then sink due to their high density

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23
Q

What is a spit?

A

A long narrow strip of land which is formed due to deposition

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24
What is a bar?
A spit which, over time, crosses a bay and links up 2 sections of the coast
25
What is a tombolo?
A bar or back that connects the mainland to an offshore island
26
When do sand dunes occur?
When prevailing winds blow sediment to the back of the beach
27
How does the development of sand dunes occur?
Embryo dunes - Upper beach area where sand states to accumulate around a small obstacle Yellow dunes - More sand accumulates with the dune growing vegetation may develop Grey dunes - Sand develops into soil with lots of moisture and nutrients
28
What is weathering?
The breakdown of rocks over time, leading to the transfer of material into the littoral zone, where it becomes an input to sediment cells
29
What are some examples of Mechanical weathering?
Freeze-thaw Salt crystallisation - Seawater evaporates, salt is left behind. Salt crystals grow pressuring the cracks
30
Examples of chemical weathering?
Oxidation: When minerals become exposed to the air through cracks, the mineral becomes oxidised which increases its volume causing the rock to crumble
31
Examples of biological weathering
Plant roots: Roots of plants growing into the cracks of rocks Birds: Burrowing into cliffs weakening them
32
What does the type of mass movement that occurs depend on?
Angle of the slope/cliff The rock's lithology and geology The vegetation cover on the cliff face The saturation of the ground
33
What are the 2 different types of mass movement? Explain them
Slides and flows Slides: sediment keeps its same place within the whole material but moved downhill Flow: All the material flows and mixes
34
What is soil creep? - FLOW
Slowest but continuous form or MM with soil particles moving downhill
35
What is solifluction? - FLOW
Slow downslope movement of soil due to recurrent freezing and thawing of the ground
36
What is mudflows? - FLOW
An increase in water content of soil can reduce friction, leading to earth and mud to flow
37
What are examples of slides?
Rock falls Rock slides Slumps
38
What is a slump?
Soil saturated with water, causing a rotation movement of soft materials
39
What are the main characteristics that dominate the influence of cliff profiles?
The resistance of the rock The dip in rock strata in relation to the sea
40
Why are cliff profiles complex to explain?
Because they are composite - have different rock layers
41
What are concordant coastlines?
When the rock strata runs parallel to the coast Lead to Dalmatian coastlines
42
What are discordant coastlines?
When the rock strata runs perpendicular to the sea creating headlands and bays
43
How can vegetation stabilise coastal sediment?
Roots of plants bind soil together which help to reduce erosion
44
What are the 2 types of plants?
Xerophytes and Halophytes
45
What are xerophytes?
Plants that are tolerant of dry conditions
46
What are halophytes?
Plants that are tolerant of salty conditions
47
Characteristics of a high energy coastline?
Powerful waves - large fetch Rocky headlands and landforms Frequent destructive waves Erosion rate exceeds deposition
48
Characteristics of a low energy coastline
Less powerful waves -constructive Sheltered areas Sandy Deposition exceeds erosion rates
49
What are the 2 types of waves?
Constructive and Destructive
50
What waves dominate in summer and winter?
Constructive - summer Destructive - winter
51
What is isostatic change?
Land moves in relation to the sea
52
What is eustatic change?
When sea levels change
53
Examples of short term sea level change
High tide and low tide Wind strength and direction
54
What is coastalisation?
The movement of people towards to coast
55
What is a storm surge?
A temporary rise in local sea level due to a storm
56
What is subsidence?
Sinking of the ground due to underground material movement
57
What is accretion?
The build up of material causing relative sea level to decrease
58
What are the 4 different approaches to managing coastal areas?
Hold the line Managed realignment Advance the line Do nothing
59
What factors are looked at when deciding what policy to use?
The economic value of assets that could be protected is looked at
60
What is a cost-benefit analysis?
An analysis that is carried out before any form of coastal management takes places
61
What is a ICZM?
An integrated coastal zone management
62
Examples of hard engineering?
Groynes Sea walls Rip Rap Offshore Breakwater
63
Examples of soft engineering?
Beach nourishment Cliff Regrading Dune stabilisation Marsh Creation

Geography - Coasts (2 decks)

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