EQ1

Question 1

Littoral zone

Answer 1

Breakwater area
Or area nearest the coastline where high + low tides occur

Question 2

Offshore

Answer 2

Area of deeper water beyond the point at which waves begin to break
Friction b/ the waves + the sea bed may cause some distortion of the wave shape

Question 3

Nearshore

Answer 3

Area of shallow water beyond the low tide mark w/i which friction b/ the seabed + waves distorts the wave sufficiently to cause it to break (breaker zone)
May be a breakpoint bar b/ the offshore + nearshore zones

Question 4

Foreshore

Answer 4

Area b/ the high tide + low tide mark

Question 5

Backshore

Answer 5

Area above the high tide mark affected by wave action only during major storm events

Question 6

Different types of coastlines formed by the littoral zone

Answer 6

Rocky/cliffed coast
Sandy coastline
Estuarine coastline

Question 7

Rocky/cliffed coast

Answer 7

Areas of high relief
Usually resistant rock areas
High energy environments where erosion is greater than deposition
Destructive waves

Question 8

Sandy coastline

Answer 8

Low relief areas
Generally flat
Soft rock areas
Low energy environments with deposition being greater than erosion

Question 9

Estuarine coastline

Answer 9

Low relief areas w/ salt marshes + mudflats
River mouths deposition greater than erosion in a low energy environment w/ soft rock

Question 10

Dynamic equilibrium

Answer 10

Balance b/ inputs, flows, outputs of energy + material
Long term changes = sea level rise
High + low tide
Weather conditions
Varyingwave energy

Question 11

Classifying coasts
ST classification criteria

Answer 11

Energy inputs:
Tides ebb + flow over a 12.5 hour period + currents, rivers, precipitation, gravity + tectonics create high + low energy coastlines
Sediment inputs:
Deposition + erosion rates - deposition is higher meaning expanding coastline
Erosion = higher meaning erosive coastline
Advancing + retreating:
Happens due 2 erosion + deposition as well as = emergent + submergent coasts linked with sea level

Question 12

Classifying coasts
LT Classification criteria

Answer 12

Geology:
The lithology (rock type) + structure (arrangement of those rocks) Used 2 determine whether a coast = rocky, sandy, estuarine + Concordant (parallel) / discordant (perpendicular)
Sea level Change:
Used 2 classify emergent + Submergent coasts. Tectonic plate movement can lift or submerge sections of land. Climate change causing sea level rise can cause a coast to become submergent

Question 13

Submergent coastline

Answer 13

Coasts occur where se level rise relative to land

Question 14

Features of Submergent coastline

Answer 14

Rias
Fjords
Dalmatian coastline

Question 15

Rias

Answer 15

River valley at the coast that has been inundated by the sea as relative sea levels have risen
Resukting in a ‘drowned valley’

Question 16

Fjord

Answer 16

A glaciated valley at the coast that has been inundated by the sea. Has steeper rising walls a straighter long profile + deeper than a ria due to glaciers over deepening the valley

Question 17

Dalmation coastline

Answer 17

A series of longitudinal river valleys next 2 the coast that have been in inundated leaving parallel ranges of watershed ridges as islands

Question 18

Rocky coastline

Answer 18

1,000km of the UKs coastline - mainly N + W
Cliffs vary in height (Scotland) to low relief (Cornwall)
Geology is resistant + they erode v slowly
Little deposition + high energy erosion

Question 19

Sandy plains

Answer 19

Flat, low relief, often containing wetlands + salt marshes
Low energy environment
Deposition is high
Can be sand, shingle, cobble
Most of the UKs S+Ecoastlines

Question 20

Concordant coasts

Answer 20

Most of the south coast (Dorset)
One continuous layer of hard rock protecting the other layers behind it

Question 21

Discordant coasts

Answer 21

Most of the E coast (Holderness)
Differing layers of resistant + soft rock in bands
Softer rock will erode faster than harder rock

Question 22

Concordant e.g. Dalmation coast = Croatia

Answer 22

Concordant coastline produced by the geological structure of folds parallel 2 the coast
Tectonic forces produced by the collision of African + Eurasian plates
Created up folded ridges (anticlines) + down folded valleys (synclines) aligned parallel 2 the coast
Sea levels rise - overtopped the low points = anticlines + sea flooded synclines
Lines of islands separated by narrow sea channels parallel 2 the coast

Question 23

Influence of coastal dip on strata

Answer 23

Dip is the angle of inclination of the rock strata from the horizontal
Tectonic feature
Sedimentary rocks are deposited horizontally but can be tilted by folding + faulting by tectonic forces
Dramatic effect on cliff profiles

Question 24

Horizontal dip

Answer 24

Produces vertical / near vertical profile
Notches reflecting weathering + small scale mass movement of strata that are more easily eroded

Question 25

High angle of seaward dip

Answer 25

Produces a sloping low-angled profile with 1 rock layer facing the sea Vulnerable 2 rock slides down the dip slope when uppermost strata are attacked by sub-aerial processes Profile slopes correspond 2 that of strata dip Bedding planes b/ strata are weakly bonded + readily loosened by weathering

Question 26

Low angle of seaward dip

Answer 26

Produces a steep profile may exceed 90 degrees Creates areas = overhand rock V vulnerable to rock falls Frequent small-scale mass movement of material weathered from cliff face Major cliff collapse when undercutting by marine erosion makes overhang unsustainable

Question 27

Landward dropping strata

Answer 27

Produces steep profiles = 70-80degrees as downslope gravitational force pulls loosened blocks into place V stable profile w/ few rock falls

Question 28

Faults

Answer 28

Major fractures created by tectonic plates Create a fault line Increases the rate of erosion Large forces involved leading 2 these rocks being easily eroded

Question 29

Joints

Answer 29

Fractures created w/o the rock being moved Occur in most rocks + can be seen as blocks of rock Igneous rock - form during magma cooling Sedimentary rock - form through compression + stretching from overlying rock

Question 30

Folding

Answer 30

Bends in the rock Produced by sedimentary rock layering Main types: anticlines + synclines

Question 31

Bedrock lithology

Answer 31

Rate of coastal recession/retreat is influenced by the type of bedrock Influenced by how reactive the rock is to chemicals Wither it’s clastic (less resistant) + crystalline (more resistant) + whether it has cracks, fissures, fractures

Question 32

Igneous

Answer 32

Granite, basalt Erode + weather v slowly because they have interlocking crystals - resistant Contain few joints + weaknesses

Question 33

Metamorphic

Answer 33

Marble, slate, schist Recrystallised rock through heat + pressure Crystalline rock = resistant BUT LESS THAN SEDIMENTARY ROCK because the crystals form in the same direction (not interlocking)

Question 34

Sedimentary

Answer 34

Sandstone, limestone, clay Formed by compaction least resistant type of rock because they’re heavily jointed - weak structures Moderate erosion rates

Question 35

Unconsolidated sediment

Answer 35

Not yet solid rock Not yet cemented + compacted Drifts due 2 deposition + usually overlays bedrock V easily eroded = 2-10 meters per yr

Question 36

Complex cliff profiles

Answer 36

Produced where there are differing types = lithology Less resistant strata erode + weather quickly producing wave cut notches Resistant strata erode + weather slowly retreating less rapidly

Question 37

Complex cliff profiles can be produced when there are

Answer 37

Alternating permeable + non-permeable strata

Question 38

Permeable rock

Answer 38

Allow water to flow through them because Porous (chalk) Numerous joints (Carboniferous limestone) E.g. sandstone + limestone

Question 39

Permeable rock = less resistant to weathering because

Answer 39

Water percolating comes into contact w/ large surface area that can be chemically weathered Limestone weathered by carbonation converting calcium carbonate to soluble calcium bicarbonate

Question 40

Pioneer plants

Answer 40

1st to colonise at a coastline Modify the environment by stabilising sediment, adding nutrients to the soil + reduce evaporation rates Create plant succession which is the process of different plant communities occupying an area of the coast overtime