Components/Stores Flashcards
(27 cards)
beaches found
mostly sand and shingle, backwash limited to transport material so with uneven surface there’s little erosion
sand
produces gentle slope, small particles so compact when wet allowing little percolation
shingle
make up whole/upper parts, larger size material so steeper gradient as water rapidly percolates
cusps
semi-circular shaped depressions that occur at junction of shingle and sand beaches
spits
an elongated, narrow ridge of land that has one end joined to mainland and projects across sea/estuary, composed of sand and shingle
coastal sand dunes
accumulations of sand shaped into mounds by the wind
what process mostly moves sand inland
saltation
tombolo
a spit that joins an island to the mainland
offshore bar
where a ridge of beach material that remains semi-submerged accumulates seaward of the breaker zone
estuarine landscapes
where the sea meets a river, mudflats and salt marshes are produced
diversity of characteristics coastal landscapes where land meets the sea includes
bays, estuaries, beaches, deltas, dunes, mudflats and saltmarshes
why are coastal landscapes dynamic
there are large and ever-changing amounts of energy available from wind-driven waves, tides and currents so constantly changing
factors during the Holocene that caused today’s coastal landscape
local tectonic processes, sea level change, climatic change, changing ocean currents/wave regimes, natural disasters, changing sources/types/amounts of sediment, changing nature of human activity
coastal outputs from the system
sediment above tidal limit (lost via wind or gravity)
sediment removed beyond local sediment cell- into neighbouring ones via transportation at time of high energy
dissipation of wave energy- lost energy
wave-cut platform
a gently sloping (<5’) relatively smooth, marine platform caused by abrasion at the base of a cliff
eustatic change
a global change in sea level as a result of an actual fall/rise in the level of the sea itself
fjord
former glacial valley drowned by rising sea levels
isostatic change
local changes in sea level resulting from the land rising/falling relative to the sea
raised beaches
areas of former wave-cut platforms and their beaches which are at a level higher than the present sea level
ria
former river valley drowned by rising sea levels
flocculation
clay particles join and form heavier particles which sink to the bed- during the formation of mudflats
blowouts
when areas of sand dunes are funnelled out by winds removing sand, form where fragile sand dunes have their vegetation cover destroyed by grazing animals/human activity
dune slacks
low lying depressions between the foredunes and main dunes which reach down to the water table
main processes in the formation of sand dunes
saltation and creep
