Key Terminology

Question 1

Cliffed coast

Answer 1

The transition from land to sea is abrupt, at low tide the foreshore is exposed as a rocky platform, the cliffs are usually vertical, but angles can be lower

Question 2

Sandy coastline

Answer 2

Sand dunes fringe many coastal plains, at high tide the sandy beach is inundated, but vegetated dunes are not, dune vegetation plays a crucial role in stabilising the coast and preventing erosion

Question 3

Estuarine coastline

Answer 3

Extensive mud flats, cut by channels, are exposed at low tide, but inundated at high tide, closer to the back shore the mud flats are vegetated, forming a salt marsh, this type of coastline gradually transitions from the land to sea

Question 4

Low (wave) energy

Answer 4

Sheltered coasts with limited fetch and low wind speeds resulting in small waves

Question 5

High (wave) energy

Answer 5

Exposed coasts, facing orevailing winds with long grudges resulting in powerful waves

Question 6

Primary coastlines

Answer 6

Dominated by land based processes such as deposition at the coasts from rivers or new coastal land formed from lava flows

Question 7

Secondary coastlines

Answer 7

Dominated by marine erosion or deposition processes

Question 8

Emergent coasts

Answer 8

Where the coasts are rising relative to sea level e.g. due to tectonic uplift or isostatic rebound

Question 9

Submergent coasts

Answer 9

Being flooded by the sea, either due to rising sea levels and / or subsiding land

Question 10

Microtidal

Answer 10

Tidal range of 0-2m

Question 11

Mesotidal

Answer 11

Tidal range of 2-4m

Question 12

Macrotidal

Answer 12

Tidal range greater than 4m

Question 13

Erosion resistance (influenced by)

Answer 13

The hardness of rock is influenced by:
How reactive minerals in the rock are when exposed to chemical weathering, whether the rocks are clastic, or more resistant crystalline, the degree to which the rocks have cracks, fractures and fissures

Question 14

Clastic

Answer 14

Sedimentary, made up of cement sediment particles

Question 15

Crystalline

Answer 15

Igneous/metamorphic, made of interlocking crystals

Question 16

Geological structure

Answer 16

Three parts: strata, deformation, faulting

Question 17

Sediment supply

Answer 17

How much sediment is supplied to a coastline is complex and can include sources such as, eroding cliffs, tidal currents and rivers

Question 18

Strata

Answer 18

The presence of major fractures that have moved rocks from their original positions

Question 19

Deformation

Answer 19

The different layers of rock within an area and how they relate to each other

Question 20

Faulting

Answer 20

The degree to which rocks units have been deformed (tilted or folded) by tectonic activity

Question 21

Faults

Answer 21

Major fractures in rocks produced by tectonic forces and involving the displacement of rocks either side of the fault line, these major weaknesses as rocks are often heavily fractured or broken, and are explored by marine erosion

Question 22

Joints

Answer 22

These occur in most rocks, often in regular patterns, divide rock strata up into blocks with a regular shape

Question 23

Fissures

Answer 23

Much smaller cracks in rocks, can only be a few cm or mm long, but they represent weakness that erosion can exploit

Question 24

Discordant (Atlantic) coastline

Answer 24

Form when different rock strata intersect the coast at an angle, so the geology varies along the coastline, headland and bays

Question 25

Concordant coastlines

Answer 25

Geological strata run parallel to the coast but vary in terms of their resistance to the sea

Question 26

Dalmatian coast

Answer 26

Concordant coast Where the limestone bedrock has been folded by tectonic activity into a series of anticlines and synclines that run parallel to the coast Rising sea levels during the Holocene have drowned the synclines to create a concordant coastline of long narrow islands arranged in lines offshore

Question 27

Holocene

Answer 27

The geological epoch that began about 12,000 years ago at the end of the last ice age, Pleistocene, large sea levels during rise of around 35m per year

Question 28

Biotic components of an ecosystem

Answer 28

Living characterisics of an ecosystem including living organisms, and trees

Question 29

Abiotic components in an ecosystem

Answer 29

Non living components e.g. soil and climate

Question 30

Blow out

Answer 30

Occur when any part of the dune siren becomes unstable, this could be due to a severe storm, tourists eroding the dunes, fires, dogs etc

Question 31

Heathland

Answer 31

As a top layer of soil has developed, a greater species diversity can be found, Kane ditill have to be able to survive in salty conditions

Question 32

Salt marsh

Answer 32

A transitional intertidal area between land and salty or brackish water

Question 33

Foreshore

Answer 33

Area between high and low tide marks

Question 34

Offshore zone

Answer 34

Area beyond the influence of the waves

Question 35

Nearshore

Answer 35

An area of intense human activity, in the shallow waters close to the land

Question 36

Back shore zone

Answer 36

Area above high times level and is only affected during storm waves

Question 37

Coastal accretion

Answer 37

A continuous deposit of sediment

Question 38

Dynamic equilibrium

Answer 38

A state of balance within a system that is constantly changing