Topic 2 Flashcards
(89 cards)
What is erosion?
The wearing away of rocks.
What are igneous rocks?
Formed by molten rock turning solid either on the Earth’s surface or beneath it.
What are metamorphic rocks?
Formed by a change of structure of existing rocks by exposure to extremes of heat and pressure.
What are sedimentary rocks?
Formed but the erosion of existing rock and the fragments produced being cemented together to form new rocks.
What is till?
A loose mixture of sediment of different sizes that is a result of erosion by ice. It is also called ‘boulder clay’.
What is hydraulic action?
He breaking up of rock material caused by water compressing air in cracks within rock surfaces, before releasing it explosively. Also known as quarrying.
What is attrition?
The wearing down of rock material by fragments rubbing together during transport.
What is abrasion?
The wearing away of rock surfaces by pieces of rock held in the water. Also known as corrasion.
What is corrosion?
The dissolving in water of soluble rock material, like limestone (calcium carbonate). Also known as solution.
What is the process of erosion on a cliff?
Wave-cut notch -> cave -> arch -> stack
What is a wave-cut notch?
A slot cut by wave action at the bottom of a cliff.
What is a cave?
A wave-cut inlet of a cliff.
What is a arch?
An offshore pilar of rock linked to the mainland at the top.
What is a stack?
An isolated offshore pillar of rock.
What is a wave-cut platform?
A flat area of land at sea level left as a cliff retreats.
What is load?
The material carried by water as it moves.
What is solution?
Rock material dissolves in the water. It will return to its solid state if the water evaporates.
What is suspension?
Material ‘floating’ in the water as it moves.
What is saltation?
Material being bounced along the surface by moving water.
What is traction?
Material being rolled or dragged along the surface by the water.
What is a spit?
A feature formed by longshore drift at a change in coastline direction when deposition continues into the sea.
What is swash?
The flow of water up a beach as a wave breaks on a shore.
What is backswash?
The flow of water back into the sea after a wave has broken on a beach.
What is an estuary?
Where a river enters the sea?