Physical landscapes in the UK Flashcards
Give two upland areas in the UK.
UKs main upland areas tend to be in the north and west.
e.g. Scottish Highlands and Northern Wales.
Describe where lowland areas are found in the UK.
UKs main lowland areas tend to be in the South and East.
eg. The Fens, Holderness Coast.
Coastal
Give two features of destructive waves.
Strong swash
Weak Backwash
Material is removed
High frequency - high and steep
Coastal
Give two features of constructive waves
Weak swash
Strong backwash
Material deposited.
Low frequency - low and long
Coastal
Explain the difference between mechanical and chemical weathering.
Mechanical weathering is the breakdown of rock without changing its chemical compostition. One type of mechanical weathering that affects coasts is freeze-thaw expansion
Chemical weathering - breakdown of rock by changing its chemical composition. One type of chemical weathering that affects coasts is carbonation.
Coastal
Describe how the process of abrasion causes coastal erosion.
Eroded particles in the water scrape and rub against rock, removing small pieces
Coastal
What is longshore drift?
Longshore drift transports sand and shingle along the coast.
Waves follow the direction of the prevailing wind.
They usually hit the coast at an oblique angle.
The swash carries material up the beach, in the same direction as the waves.
The backwash then carries material down the beach at right angles, back towards the sea.
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Coastal
Give an example of a resistant rock type.
Metamorphic rocks are highly resistant to erosion.
Coastal
Give an example of a non-resistant rock type.
Sandstone
Coastal
Explain how coastal stack forms.
- Crack
- Cave
- Cave is enlarged
- arch
- Arch erodes
- Stack
- stump
Coastal
Explain how a sand dune forms.
- Sand dunes are formed when sand deposited by longshore drift is moved up the beach by the wind.
- Obstacles decrease wind speed so sand is deposited forming small embryo dunes.
- Embryo dunes are colonised by plants e.g marram grass. The roots of the vegetation stabilise the sand encouraging more sand to accumulate there. This forms foredunes and eventually mature dunes. New embryo dunes form in front of stabilised dunes.
- Dune slacks can form in hollows between dunes.
Coastal
How would you identify a spit on a map?
Spits are shown by a beach that carries on out to sea, but is still attached to the land at one end.
There might also be a sharp bend in the coast that has caused it to form.
Coastal
For your example of a section of a UK coastline, give its major landforms of erosion and deposition.
Example section of UK coastline
Medmerry
Bay
Crack, cave, arch, stack, stump.
Coastal
What is hard engineering?
Man-made structures built to control the flow of the sea and reduce flooding and erosion.
eg. sea wall, gabions, rock armour, groynes.
Coastal
Describe one hard engineering strategy and give one cost and one benefit of the strategy.
Groynes
What is it?
Wooden or stone fences that are built at right angles to the coast. Trap material transported by longshore drift.
Benefits
They create wider beaches which slow the waves.This gives greater protection from flooding and erosion.
Costs
They starve beaches further down the coast of sand, making them narrower.Narrow beaches don’t protect the coast as well leading to greater erosion.
Coastal
What is soft engineering?
Schemes set up using knowledge of the sea and its processes to reduce the effects of flooding and erosion
eg. beach nourishment and reprofiling, dune regeneration.
Coastal
Describe one soft engineering strategy and give one cost and one benefit of the strategy.
Dune regeneration
Creating/restoring sand dunes by nourishment or by planting vegetation to stabilise the sand.
Dunes create a barrier between the land and sea and absorb wave energy, preventing flooding and erosion. Stabilisation is cheap.
The protection is limited to a small area. Nourishment is very expensive.
Coastal
For your example of a UK coastal management scheme, identify the management strategies used and the resulting impact.
Example of UK Coastal Management scheme
Medmerry
Now there is only a 1 in 1000 chance of flooding. It is now the best protected for floods in the whole of the UK. A new embankment was built (up to 2km inland from shore) using clay from within the area. Processes happened from 2011 to 2014.
Rivers
Explain the difference between vertical and lateral erosion.
Lateral erosion occurs when the river erodes its banks, causing its channel to widen. It more commonly occurs in the middle and lower courses of the river. Vertical erosion occurs when the river erodes its bed. This causes the deepening of the bed and commonly occurs in the river’s upper course.
Rivers
Describe the process of traction.
Its a transportation process.
Traction - large particles like boulders are pushed along the sea-bed by the force of the water.
Rivers
Why do rivers deposit sediment?
Deposition happens when the river loses energy. It happens when the river enters shallow waters
Rivers
What is a gorge?
A gorge is a narrow valley with steep, rocky walls located between hills or mountains.
Rivers
How would you identify a waterfall on a map?
A waterfall is shown with the word ‘Waterfall’ displayed next to them. A ‘V’ shaped valley can be seen where contour lines form a ‘V’ shape facing up a slope.
Rivers
What is a hydrograph?
A hydrograph shows how a river is affected by a storm. This helps to understand discharge patterns of a particular drainage basin and helps to predict flooding and plan flood prevention measures.
Rivers
For your example of a UK flood management scheme, say why the scheme was required and ouline resulting issues.
Example of UK flood management scheme
MEDMERRY
* Constructing a new 7km embankment using clay from within the area. The embankment created a new intertidal zone, protecting properties behind it from coastal flooding.
* A channel was built behind the embankment to collect draining water. This water is taken back into the intertidal zone via four outfall structures.
* Sixty thousand tonnes of rock from Norway was used to build up rock armour on the seaward edges of the embankment, linking to the remaining ridge.
* Once the rock amour and embankment were complete, a 110-metre breach was made in the shingle bank on the beach, allowing the sea to flood the land and creating the new intertidal zone.
Coasts
Describe one hard engineering strategy and give one cost and one benefit of the strategy.
Sea Wall
What it is?
A wall made out of a hard material like concrete that reflects waves back to sea.
Benefits
Prevents erosion of the coast. Also acts as a barrier to prevent flooding.
Costs
It creates a strong backwash that erodes under the wall. Expensive to build and maintain.
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Coasts
Describe one hard engineering strategy and give one cost and one benefit of the strategy.
Gabions
What is it?
A wall of wire cages filled with rocks, usually built at the foot of cliffs.
Benefits
Absorb wave energy so reduce erosion. They’re cheap and easy to build.
Costs
They’re ugly to look at and the wire cages can corrode over time.
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Coasts
Describe one hard engineering strategy and give one cost and one benefit of the strategy.
Rock Armour
What is it?
Boulders that are piled up along the coast. (sometimes called a rip-rap).
Benefits
It absorbs wave energy reducingerosion and flooding. It’s a fairly cheap defence.
Costs
Boulders can be moved around by strong waves so they need to be replaced.
