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Coastal Environments - Leaderboard
Coastal Environments - Details
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| 🇬🇧 | 🇬🇧 |
| What is Abrasion ? | Wearing away of cliffs by sediment flung by breaking waves |
| What is Attrition ? | Erosion caused when rocks and boulders transported by waves bump into each other and break up into smaller pieces. |
| What is an angle of dip ? | The angle of the bedding planes which affects the shape of the cliff. If the rock layers are horizontal, small overhangs of more resistant rock form in the cliff face. If the bedding planes dip towards the sea, a gently sloping cliff face is formed with few overhangs. If the bedding planes dip away from the sea, a steep cliff face with many large overhangs of more resistant rock is formed. |
| What is an arch ? | Wave-eroded passage through a small headland. This begins as a cave formed in the headland, which is gradually widened and deepened until it cuts through. |
| What is aspect (of a cliff face)? | The direction a cliff faces; facing the direction of the prevailing wind can lead to high rates of cliff erosion. |
| What is backwash ? | The return of water to the sea after waves break on a beach. |
| What is a Bar ? | Where a spit grows across a bay. A bar can eventually enclose the bay to create a lagoon. |
| What is a Bay ? | Found between headlands where there are alternating outcrops of resistant (harder) rock and less resistant (softer) rock. Waves erode the areas of softer rock more rapidly to form bays. The more resistant, harder rock forms the headlands that protrude out to sea. |
| What is a beach ? | The temporary deposition of sand and shingle along the coastline. Without its beach a coast is vulnerable to erosion, e.g. the cliffs at Barton on Sea were easily eroded following the construction of a groyne updrift at Bournemouth. |
| What is beach depletion ? | The loss of beach material e.g. by offshore dredging of shingle bank |
| What is a Bedding Plane ? | A line in rocks separating two different layers: one usually more resistant to erosion, one usually weaker. The layers, deposited horizontally millions of years ago as sediment on the sea bed, have often been tilted through earth movements (tectonics), creating an angle of dip. |
| What is Beach Replenishment ? | The addition of new material to a beach naturally, through the action of longshore drift or artificially, through the dumping of large amounts of material. |
| What is Biological Weathering ? | The breakdown of rock through the action of plants and animals |
| Define breakwater? | A barrier built out into the sea to protect a coast or harbour from the force of waves. |
| Define Beach Profiling | Changing the profile or shape of the beach. It usually refers to the direct transfer of material from the lower to the upper beach or, occasionally, the transfer of sand down the dune face from crest to toe. |
| What is a Cave ? | Found in coasts formed of resistant rock. Corrasion, Corrosion and Hydraulic action widen any weakness within the rock e.g. joint, bedding plane or fault, to form a cave. |
| What is Chemical Weathering ? | The decomposition (or rotting) of rock caused by a chemical change within that rock; sea water causes chemical weathering of cliffs. |
| What are Clay Cliffs | Clay is a soft, impermeable rock which soaks up water to become saturated. When this happens the clay becomes unstable and begins to slump. Clay cliffs have gentle slope angles. |
| What are Cliffs ? | Hard, resistant rocks form steep cliffs; soft rocks such as clay create low, gentle cliffs. |
| Define Cliff Collapse | Steep cliffs made of hard, resistant rock, fall down when there is a loss of supporting rock underneath caused by wave attack. |
| Define Cliff Drainage | Steel barriers and drains put into a cliff to intercept the water movement through the cliff which causes mass movement. |
| What are Constructive Wave Characteristics ? | Found on low-angled beaches and mainly responsible for coastal deposition. They are gently breaking, with a much stronger swash than backwash. |
| What is Corrasion ? | A process of erosion, corrasion refers to the strictly mechanical wear of bedrock by moving detrital and other materials during (a) their migration downslope under the influence of gravity, and (b) their further transportation by erosional agencies such as running water, moving ice, or wind. |
| What are destructive waves ? | Found on steep beaches, are steeply breaking and mainly responsible for coastal erosion. Their backwash is much stronger than their swash. |
| Describe Dredging | Excavating sand and shingle from the sea bed; this can contribute to coastal erosion. |
| What is dune regeneration ? | Action taken to build up dunes and increase vegetation to strengthen the dunes and prevent excessive coastal retreat. This includes the re-planting of marram grass to stabilise the dunes, as well as planting trees and providing boardwalks. |
| What is Deposition | Occurs when material being transported by the sea is dropped due to the sea losing energy. |
| Define erosion | The wearing away of the land by rivers, ice sheets, waves and wind. |
| What is an Estuary ? | The tidal mouth of a river where it meets the sea; wide banks of deposited mud are exposed at low-tide. |
| What is a Concordant Coastline ? | A concordant coastline occurs where the bands of differing rock types run parallel to the coast. The outer hard provides a protective barrier to erosion of the softer rocks further inland. Sometimes the outer hard rock is punctured allowing the sea to erode the softer rocks behind. |
| What is a discordant coastline? | A discordant coastline is where the geology alternates between strata (bands) of soft and hard rock. |
| What is a fault ? | A large crack in the rock caused by earthquake movements. |
| Define Fetch | The maximum distance of water over which winds can blow. In the case of south-west England the maximum fetch is from the south-west (5000 miles). This also coincides with the direction of the prevailing wind and leads to large storm waves attacking Barton on Sea, particularly in Winter. |
| What is Fiord (Fjord) ? | A long, narrow, steep-sided inlet formed by glaciers and later drowned by a rise is sea level. Fjords are often over 3 kilometres deep. |
| What is freeze-thaw Weathering ? | Also called frost-shattering as it occurs in cold climates when temperatures are often around freezing point and where exposed rocks contain many cracks. Water enters the cracks during the warmer day and freezes during the colder night. As the water turns into ice it expands and exerts pressure on the surrounding rock, causing pieces to break off. |
| What is a Gabion ? | Steel wire mesh filled with boulders used in coastal defences. |
| Define Geology | The physical structure and arrangement of a rock |
| What is a Groyne ? | A wooden barrier built out into the sea to stop the longshore drift of sand and shingle, and so cause the beach to grow. It is used to build beaches to protect against cliff erosion and provide an important tourist amenity. However, by trapping sediment it deprives another area, down-drift, of new beach material (beach replenishment) |
| Define hard engineering | The use of concrete and large artificial structures by civil engineers to defend land against natural erosion processes. |
| What are headlands and bays | A rocky coastal promontory made of rock that is resistant to erosion; headlands lie between bays of less resistant rock where the land has been eroded back by the sea. |
| What is Hydraulic action ? | Hydraulic Action is the sheer force of water crashing against the coastline causing material to be dislodged and carried away by the sea. |
| Define Impermeable rock | A rock that will not allow water to pass through it e.g. granite, slate |
| What is Igneous rock ? Give an example | Rock that has formed from volcanic activity, often cooled magma on the earths surface. Eg granite |
| What are joints ? | Small cracks in the layers of rock created during earth movements. |
| What is a Lagoon ? | A former bay cut off from the sea by a bar. |
| What is Longshoredrift ? | The zigzag movement of sediment along a shore caused by waves going up the beach at an oblique angle(wash) and returning at right angles(backwash). This results in the gradual movement of beach materials along the coast. |
| Define Land Reclamation | Areas of land that were once below the sea; the sea has either been blocked off by dykes and the sea water pumped out (e.g. Dutch Polders), or material has been dumped into the sea to raise the level of the seabed until it becomes dry land. |
| Define Managed Retreat | Allowing cliff erosion to occur as nature taking its course: erosion in some areas, deposition in others. Benefits include less money spent and the creation of natural environments. |
| Define Mass Movement | The downhill movement of weathered material under the force of gravity. The speed can vary considerably, from soil creep, where the movement is barely noticeable, to slumps, slides and mudflows, where the movement becomes increasingly more rapid. |
| Define/describe Mechanical weathering | Weathering processes that cause physical disintegration or break up of exposed rock without any change in the chemical composition of the rock, for instance freeze thaw. |
| What is Metamorphic rock ? Give an example | Metamorphic rocks were once igneous or sedimentary rocks, but have been changed (metamorphosed) as a result of intense heat and/or pressure within the Earth’s crust. They are crystalline and often have a “squashed” (foliated or banded) texture. Slate, Marble |
| What are mud flows/slides ? | Occur after periods of heavy rain when loose surface material becomes saturated and the extra weight causes the material to become unstable and move rapidly downhill in an almost fluid state. |
| What is a notch ? | An undercut part of the cliff base where wave attack concentrates erosion. |
| Define Offshore | Out at sea, away from the land. |
| Define Permeable rock, give an example | Allows water to percolate or pass through it e.g. limestone, sandstone and chalk. |
| Define Physical weathering | The disintegration of rock into smaller pieces without any chemical change in the rock; this is most likely in areas of bare rock where there is no vegetation to protect the rock from extremes of weather e.g. freeze-thaw and exfoliation (or onion weathering). |
| What is a prevailing wind ? | The direction from which the wind usually blows. |
| What is a raised beach ? | Beach left stranded high on a cliff face after a fall in sea level. |
| Define Revetments | Wooden, steel, or concrete fence-like structures that allow sea water and sediment to pass through, but the structures absorb wave energy. A beach can build up behind the revetment and provide further protection for the cliff. These are used as part of coastal defences. |
| What is rock armour ? | Large boulders dumped on the beach as part of the coastal defences. |
| What is a Ria ? | A river valley drowned by a rise in sea level. It provides an excellent, natural, sheltered harbour. |
| What is a riprap ? | Large boulders dumped on the beach as part as part of coastal defences. |
| Define Saturation | Loose surface material after heavy rain can become saturated and therefore unstable due to the extra weight, leading to mud slides. Where permeable sand rock overlays impermeable clay (e.g. the cliffs at Barton on Sea), the sand can become saturated and slump or slide along a shear plane. |
| Define sea level change | Changes in the level of the sea against the land are caused by either the building up of melting of polar ice caps, or by rising and falling land levels. |
| What is a sand dune ? | Coastal sand hill above the high tide mark, shaped by wind action, covered with grasses and shrubs. |
| What are sea defences ? | Measures taken to defend the coast from erosion, cliff collapse and flooding |
| What are sea walls ? | Aim to prevent erosion of the coast by providing a barrier which reflects wave energy. |
| What is Sediment ? | Material originating from rock weathering and erosion. Shingle and sand are examples found along the coast. |
| What is soft management ? | Soft engineering does not involve building artificial structures, but takes a more sustainable and natural approach to managing the coast. |
| What is a shear Plane ? | A bedding plane or dividing line between a permeable rock, e.g. sand, and an impermeable rock, e.g. clay. This can become saturated after prolonged heavy rain and provides a line over which part of the cliff can shear (break) away. |
| What is a Slide (in relation to mass movement) | Saturated weathered material moving down a slope under the influence of gravity. |
| Define/describe slumping | Involves a whole segment of the cliff moving down-slope along a saturated shear-plane. |
| Define/describe soil creep | The slowest of downhill movements, occurring on very gentle and well-vegetated slopes. Although material may move by less than 1 cm a year, its results can be seen in step-like terracettes on hillsides. |
| What is a spit ? | A long, narrow accumulation of sand and shingle formed by longshore drift and deposited where the coastline abruptly changes direction. One end of the spit is connected to the land and the other end projects out to the sea, often with a curved (hooked) end. |
| What is a Stack ? | Rock left standing out at sea after wave erosion has separated it from the mainland. This is the next stage from an arch. Waves will continue to erode the foot of the arch until its roof becomes too heavy to be supported. When the roof collapses, it will leave part of the former cliff isolated. |
| What is a Stump ? | Formed by continuing wave action attacking a stack until it collapses. |
| What is a storm surge ? | A rapid rise in sea level caused by storms forcing water into a narrowing sea area. Low air pressure at the centre of the storm also causes sea levels to rise. |
| What is swash ? | The swash is when a wave reaches the shore the wave rushes up the beach. |
| Define Solution | This is when sea water dissolves certain types of rocks. In the UK, chalk and limestone cliffs are prone to this type of erosion. |
| Define Suspension | Suspension is a method of transporting very fine sediment in a river. The sediment is probably eroded from larger rocks upstream and is then carried in the water. When the sediment is deposited from the water it is known as silt. |
| Define Traction | Traction - large, heavy pebbles are rolled along the river bed. This is most common near the source of a river, as here the load is larger. |
| Define transportation | The movement of eroded material |
| Describe a wave cut platform | A rocky, level shelf at or around sea level representing the base of old, retreated cliffs. |
| How are waves created ? | Waves are caused by the transfer of energy from the wind blowing over the surface of the sea. The largest waves are formed when winds are very strong, blow for lengthy periods and cross large expanses of water |
| What is wave erosion ? | The power of the wave is generated by the fetch. Waves erode cliffs by abrasion/corrasion and hydraulic pressure. |
| Define Biodiversity | The variety of species in an ecosystem |
| Define Ecosystem | An organic community of plants and animals interacting in their environment |
| What are sub-aerial processes ? | The general reshaping of the land by normal atmospheric processes, for example wind and rain . It includes weathering, mass movement, erosion and deposition. |
| Describe some characteristics of a sand dune | Made of blown sand (1) • Range of vegetation/Marram Grass (1) • Undulating shape (1) • Slip face of dune (1) • Fragile / easily eroded (1) |
| Suggest two marine processes forming these coastal landforms? | Hydraulic action (1) where the force of the waves hit the cliffs forcing air into cracks (1). • Abrasion (1) where waves pick up stones which hit the cliff (1). • Corrosion/solution (1) where sea water dissolves rocks (1). • Arch is widened by the waves and then the roof collapses (1) stack formed as a result (1). • Stack attacked by wave action (1) worn down over time to form stump (1). |
| Define/Describe an abiotic factor | An abiotic factor is a non-living part of an ecosystem that shapes its environment |
| Define/Describe a biotic factor Examples ?? | A biotic factor is a living organism that shapes its environment. In a freshwater ecosystem examples might include aquatic plants, fish, amphibians, and algae. |
| Identify one feature of coral reef ecosystems? | Calcium carbonate (1) • High levels of biodiversity (1) • Made of living organisms (1) • Home for lots of small fish (1) • Ideas around presence of tourism (1). • Idea of damage to Coral/ reef under threat idea (1). |
| Explain one factor that controls the distribution of coral reef ecosystems. | Temperature of the water (1) (tropical) coral needs optimum temperature of 25°c (1). • Temperature of the water (1) coral needs a minimum of 18°c degrees for growth (1). • Water depth (1) as coral needs less than 25m to survive (1). • Water depth (1) affects light penetration from sunlight (1). • Salinity (1) as corals are marine life and can only survive in saltwater (1). |
| Identify the feature labelled X. | Wave Cut Platform |