The Coastal Zone

Question 1

Arch

Answer 1

A headland that has been broken through by the sea to form a gap under a precariously hanging piece of rock

Question 2

Attrition

Answer 2

Rock fragments carried by the sea knock into one another making them smaller and more rounded

Question 3

Backwash

Answer 3

The motion of the wave that returns the sediment back to the sea. Movement perpendicular to shore along line of least resistance

Question 4

Bar

Answer 4

A spit that has grown across a bay

Question 5

Bay

Answer 5

A softer weaker part of the coastline which erodes faster than the headlands, often with a beach

Question 6

Beach

Answer 6

A build up of sand and sediment along part of the coast

Question 7

Beach nourishment

Answer 7

Adding sand/shingle to a beach to manage it’s size

Question 8

Bedding plane

Answer 8

A weakness between different layers (strata) of rock

Question 9

Carrying capacity

Answer 9

Potential of waves to move sediment

Question 10

Cave

Answer 10

A hollowed-out feature at the base of a cliff

Question 11

Constructive wave

Answer 11

A wave where the swash is bigger than the backwash

Question 12

Corrasion

Answer 12

Fragments of rock picked up and hurled by sea at a cliff

Question 13

Cost-benefit analysis

Answer 13

Weighing up the costs of different approaches against the costs of not implementing them in order to make a financially sound decision

Question 14

Deposition

Answer 14

Processes whereby material is left behind

Question 15

Destructive wave

Answer 15

A wave where the swash is smaller than the backwash

Question 16

Dune regeneration

Answer 16

Adding vegetation to bind sand dunes

Question 17

Erosion

Answer 17

Break down of rock by an external agent (waves)

Question 18

Estuary

Answer 18

The tidal mouth of a river where it meets the sea

Question 19

Fetch

Answer 19

The distance waves travel before hitting a coastline

Question 20

Freeze-thaw weathering

Answer 20

Water entering gaps, freezing, expanding by 9%. Repeated action breaks off loose bits of cliffs

Question 21

Groynes

Answer 21

Timber of rock structures that prevent sediment being moved away from part of the beach by trapping it

Question 22

Hard engineering

Answer 22

Building artificial structures in an attempt to slow down coastal erosion

Question 23

Headland

Answer 23

A harder more resistant part of the coastline that sticks out to sea

Question 24

Hydraulic power

Answer 24

Sheer power of the waves smashing onto the cliffs, blasting holes in the rock causing it to break apart

Question 25

Impermeable rock

Answer 25

A rock that doesn't allow water into it ie. clay

Question 26

Joints

Answer 26

Small cracks in the rock formed during earth movements

Question 27

Longshore drift

Answer 27

The transport of sediment along a stretch of coastline caused by a prevailing wind attacking the beach at an oblique angle

Question 28

Managed retreat

Answer 28

Allowing certain parts of the coastline to erode as part of a sustainable approach ie. Happisburgh

Question 29

Permeable rock

Answer 29

Rock that allows water into it ie. limestone

Question 30

Pioneer plant

Answer 30

The first species to colonise an area (often grasses)

Question 31

Prevailing wind

Answer 31

Direction from which the wind most frequently comes

Question 32

Revetments

Answer 32

Wooden structures on the beach running parallel to the coast which absorb the waves' energy

Question 33

Rock armour

Answer 33

Piles of large boulders dumped at the base of a cliff absorbing wave energy

Question 34

Rockfall

Answer 34

Fragments of rock falling from the cliff face

Question 35

Rotational slip

Answer 35

A slump of rock around a curved surface

Question 36

Saltation

Answer 36

A hopping or bouncing motion of particles too heavy to be suspended

Question 37

Salt marsh

Answer 37

Low-lying coastal wetland

Question 38

Sea wall

Answer 38

Concrete or rock barrier placed at the foot of cliffs

Question 39

Sedimentary rock

Answer 39

Rock laid down in layers at the bottom of the ocean and formed under the pressure of overlying oceans

Question 40

Shoreline Management Plan (SMP)

Answer 40

An integrated coastal management plan for a stretch of coastline in England or Wales

Question 41

Soft engineering

Answer 41

A sustainable approach to managing the coast without using artificial structures

Question 42

Solution

Answer 42

Rocks dissolved by seawater (eg. limestone)

Question 43

Spit

Answer 43

A finger of new land jutting out from the coast into the sea

Question 44

Stack

Answer 44

An isolate pinnacle of rock sticking out to sea at the end of a headland

Question 45

Stump

Answer 45

A stack that has been eroded down

Question 46

Suspension

Answer 46

Particles carried by the water

Question 47

Swash

Answer 47

The forwards movement of the wave up the beach. Parallel to the prevailing wind

Question 48

Traction

Answer 48

Large pebbles rolled along the seabed

Question 49

Vegetation succession

Answer 49

A sequence of vegetation species colonising an environment

Question 50

Wave-cut notch

Answer 50

A small indentation cut into a cliff at level of high tide caused by marine erosion

Question 51

Wave-cut platform

Answer 51

A wide gently sloping rocky surface at the foot of a cliff

Question 52

Weathering

Answer 52

Break down of rock in situ (in one place)

Question 53

Abrasion

Answer 53

The sandpaper effect of pebbles grinding over a rocky platform making it smooth