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Coasts Flashcards

(80 cards)

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1
Q

What is a sub-aerial process

A

includes weathering and mass movement, operate on a cliff face

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2
Q

What is a littoral zone

A

the coastal zone in which sediment is moved around between the land, beach and sea
stretches out form shore into sea
constantly changing because tides and storms affect this zone

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3
Q

What are the 4 smaller sub zones of the littoral zone

A

Back shore, near shore, foreshore and offshore

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4
Q

What is a dynamic equilibrium

A

Where input and output of sediment are in a. constant state of change and so they remain in balance
physical and human factors can affect this

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5
Q

What are the four things that can affect dynamic equilibrium

A

Sand supply, Waves, Sea level, Location

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6
Q

How does sand supply change dynamic equilibrium

A

sand protects the shoreline and so being deprived of this can cause higher rates of erosion

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7
Q

How do the waves change dynamic equilibrium

A

Th erosion rate of a wave can change depending on the height, the angel and the amount of sediment its carrying

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8
Q

How does the sea level change dynamic equilibrium

A

Climate change causing the sea level to rise quicker decreasing the littoral zone

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9
Q

How does the location of the shoreline change dynamic equilibrium

A

can move backwards or forewords during a storm and this can effect their erosion rate

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10
Q

What are the inputs to a coasts system

A

-Marine- waves, tides storms
-Atmospheric- weather, solar energy
-Human activity

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11
Q

What are the processes of a coasts system (5)

A

weathering, mass movement, erosion, transport, deposition

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12
Q

What are the outputs of a coastal system

A

Erosional landforms
Depositional landforms
Different types of coasts

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13
Q

What are the three ways coats can be classified

A

Energy, Geology, Emergent or Submerging

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14
Q

What are the characteristics of a low energy coast

A

-non powerful waves
-sheltered
-depostion higher than erosion
-wide beaches and spits
-plains that gently slop seawards
-vulnerable to storms

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15
Q

What are the characteristics of a high energy coast

A

-powerful waves
-exposed
-erosion greater than deposition
-headlands and cliffs
-tall steep cliffs

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16
Q

What are the two types of coastlines

A

Concordant and discordant

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17
Q

What is a concordant coastline

A

alternative layers of hard and soft rock run parallel to the sea

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18
Q

What is a discordant coast line

A

Alternative layers of hard and soft rock run at right angles to the sea

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19
Q

What is a resistant coastline

A

Withstand powerful waves and has a low rate of erosion
Resistant to subaerial processes and weathering

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20
Q

What is a cliff profile

A

The height and angle of a cliff face as well as its features

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21
Q

Rocky cliff coastlines

A

formed from rock where hardness varies
sub-aerial processes can dominate at some cliffs and marine at others

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22
Q

What are the two types of cliff profile for rocky cliffs (explain)

A

-Steep/unvegetated where marine erosion dominates
-Shallower/ lower curved cliffs where marine erosion is less, weathering and mass movement move rocks and debris downslope but not removed

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23
Q

Coastal plain coastlines

A

Mostly found in eastern Britain, consists of younger, weaker sedimentary rocks

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24
Q

What is a submergent coast

A

Flooded coasts due to sea level rising globally and land sinking locally
e.g St Georges river in Australia

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25
What is a emergent coast Two types of changes
land rising faster than sea level rises globally -Eustatic change = change seen in sea level doe to glacial melting to tectonic activity -Isostatic change = crust changes height due to tectonics or less weight form glaciers
26
What is a dip
Is the acute angel that a rock surface makes with a horizontal plane
27
What is a joint
A fracture dividing rock into two sections that moved away from each other
28
What is a fold
occurs when a stack of originally flat surfaces, such as sedimentary Strata event are bent or curved as a result of permanent deformation
29
What is a Strata
A layer of sedimentary rock or soil, or igneous rock that was formed at earths surface, with internally consistent characteristics that distinguish it form other layers
30
What is a fault
A crack in th earths crust typically associated with or form the boundaries between the earths tectonic plates
31
What are bedding planes
Formed due to longer or shorter pauses in the deposition processes
32
What are the factors affecting coastal recession rate (5)
Geological structure, vegetation, season, species, lithology
33
How does geological structure affect coastal recession
-Deformation - Faulting allows mechanical weathering - weakness within rocks allows for greater erosion
34
How does vegetation effect coastal recession
-mangroves protect from erosion -can bind unconsolidated sediment together making it more resistant
35
How does season effect coastal recession
-winter= destructive waves -summer= constructive waves
36
How does species effect coastal recession
- biological weathering, vegetation roots loosen cracks -animals that live on rocks lead to greater erosion
37
How does lithology effect coastal recession
-crystals can interlock and therefore difficult to erode -when rocks are permeable they are more likely to lead to mass movement -rocks made of smaller rocks erode easier -highly reactive rocks are more susceptible to chemical weathering
38
What causes waves
-stronger the wind -longer it blows for -the longer the fetch the larger the wave and more energy it will have
39
Why do waves break
as waves approach coastline their is a frictional force that changes the normal circular motion of the wave into an elliptical orbit, force increases until the crest travels faster than the base
40
What is the fetch
how far the wave travels from where it originated
41
What are swell waves
waves that travel far and appear large
42
Parts of a destructive wave
-circular movement -weak swash -strong back wash -steep beaches
43
Parts of a constructive wave
-elliptical movement -strong swash -weak backwash -gently sloped beaches
44
What is lithology
the general physical characteristics of rocks
45
What is differential erosion
occurs at irregular or varying rates, causes by the differences in the resistance and hardness of surface material
46
When does most erosion occur
-when waves are at their largest -waves approaching the cliff at 90º -heavy rainfall -debris being removed
47
What are the four types of erosion
Hydraulic action, Abrasion, Attrition, Corrosion(solution)
48
What is hydraulic action
when air gets trapped in cracks and builds up pressure making cracks become bigger
49
What is abrasion
segment picked up in waves is thrown against the cliff face
50
What is attrition
process of numerous sediments colliding in transport
51
What is corrosion
Chemicals from the sea can effect reactive rocks such as limestone
52
What are the characteristics of wave cut platforms
-slopes gently down -bare rock -deep cracks -covered at high tide
53
What is a wave cut notch
Erosion at the base of a cliff which causes an overhanging rock that becomes unstable and falls
54
What is weathering
The decay and disintegration of rocks
55
What is a subaerial process
Under the air, existing, occurring or formed in the open air or on earths surface
56
What is mechanical weathering
Caused by physical changes such as changes in temperature, freezing and the effects of wind, rain and waves
57
What are examples of mechanical weathering (4)
-Temperature change, heating and cooling expand and shrink, cracks -Freeze thaw water freezing expands -Salt crystallisation, deposited in cracks and builds pressure -Wetting and drying, clay rich rocks
58
What is biological weathering
Helps to speed up mechanical and chemical weathering through the action of plants, bacteria or animals
59
Examples of biological weathering (3)
- When growing plant roots widen cracks as does the leverage created by swaying trees -burrowing animals and nesting birds -rock boring occurs when clam sand molluscs bore into rock and may secrete chemicals to dissolve rocks
60
What is chemical weathering
The decomposition of rocks, occurs as a result of a weak chemical reaction between water and rock
61
Examples of chemical weathering
-Carbonation, rainwater mixed with carbon dioxide from carbonic acid, this reacts with calcium carbonate in limestone -Hydrolysis, breakdown of minerals to from new clay minerals plus material in solution, effects igneous and metamorphic rocks -Oxidation, the addition of oxygen minerals produces iron oxides and increases volume which contributes to mechanical breakdown, affects sandstones.
62
What is mass movement
The down slope movement of earth materials under the influence of gravity, occurs if the stress imposed is greater than the strength of the material to hold it in place
63
What are the 5 types of mass movement
Rock fall, Topple, Transitional slide, Slump/rotational slide, Flow
64
What is rock fall
most likely to occur when strong jointed and steep rock faces are exposed to mechanical weathering slopes over 40º
65
What is topple
influenced by the geological structure where the rock strata have steep seaward dip, undercutting by erosion causing rocks to fall over
66
What is transitional slide
rocks that are joined or have bedding planes parallel to slope, increase in water reduces friction causing sliding, all rock falls together
67
What is slump or rotational slide
occurs in saturated conditions, where the softer materials sit on top the more resistant, land falls vertically
68
What is flow
increased amounts of water reduce the friction and cause mud or earth to flow over the bedrock
69
What's the difference between slide and flow
in a slide the material remains intact whereas in a flow it becomes jumbled up
70
What impact does rotational slumping have on the cliff profile
rotational slumping will leave marks on the landscape which are known as rotational scars repeated slumping creates a terraced cliff profile
71
why does the sea level change day to day
- high and low tides - atmospheric presure (low causes slight rise) - winds pushing water towards coast causing wave height to vary
72
what is eustatic in terms of sea level change
global scale caused by a change in the volume of water in the ocean store
73
what is eustatic sea level change caused by
- sea level rise (glacier melt) - Thermal expansion (warming oceans)
74
how does thermal expansion work
heating of ocean water causes the water molecules to move which causes the expansion of liquid (every 1º warmer 0.8m rise)
75
what is isostatic in terms of sea level change
local scale caused by change in the the level of the land relative to the sea
76
how and where does isostatic change occur
- when the weight of ice sheets causes it to sink (subsidence) - when ice melts raw reduced weight causes land to rise (recovery) - scottland is rebounding whereas England and Wales are subsiding
77
what is an emergent coastline
coasts are rising relative to sea level
78
examples of emergent coastlines
- raised beaches where wave cut platform left higher that go beach - Kings cave, originally cut by marine erosion but now left high and dry
79
What's a submerging coats
being flooded by the sea
80

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