Coasts Flashcards
(15 cards)
What is the main cause of waves?
Wind blowing over the surface of the sea.
What is the difference between constructive and destructive waves?
Constructive waves have a strong swash and build up the beach; destructive waves have a strong backwash and erode the beach.
Name four types of erosion.
Hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition, and solution.
What is longshore drift?
The movement of sediment along the coast by the swash and backwash of waves.
What factors affect the rate of coastal erosion?
Rock type, wave energy, fetch, and coastal management.
How are headlands and bays formed?
Through differential erosion of alternating bands of hard and soft rock.
How is a wave-cut platform formed?
Erosion at the base of a cliff creates a wave-cut notch, leading to cliff collapse and a platform left behind.
What features are formed by coastal deposition?
Beaches, spits, bars, and tombolos.
How is a spit formed?
Longshore drift transports sediment which is deposited across a bay or river mouth; the end may curve due to wind and waves.
Give an example of a spit in the UK.
Spurn Head, Holderness Coast.
What is hard engineering?
Man-made structures like sea walls and groynes used to control coastal erosion.
Name three types of hard engineering.
Sea walls, rock armour (riprap), and groynes.
What is soft engineering?
Sustainable, natural approaches like beach nourishment and dune regeneration.
Name a disadvantage of sea walls.
Expensive and can increase erosion further down the coast.
What is managed retreat?
Allowing certain low-value coastal areas to flood naturally to reduce pressure elsewhere.
