Geography - AQA - GCSE - Physical - Coasts

Processes
1. Erosion
  1. Corrosion
    1. Dissolving because of acidity in water
  2. Corrasion/Abrasion
    1. Rock rubbing against other rocks
  3. Attrition
    1. Rock hitting other rocks
  4. Hydraulic action
    1. Sheer force of water against rocks
2. Mass Movement
  1. Rotational slumping
    1. Large areas of land falling very quickly
      1. Material shifts with a rotation
  2. Mudflow
    1. Saturated soil falling slowly
      1. Material shifts in a straight line
  3. Rockfall
    1. Rocks falling usually due to freeze thaw weathering
      1. Material shifts vertically
  4. Landslide
    1. Rocks rolling downhill
      1. Material shifts in a straight line
3. Weathering
  1. Chemical
    1. Acidic rain corroding
  2. Biological
    1. Animals burrowing into cliffs
      1. Roots of plants in cliffs
  3. Physical
    1. Freeze thaw
      1. Water in cracks freeze and expand, splitting rocks and cliffs
    2. Exfoliation
      1. During the day, heats up and at night, cools down, expanding and contracting and then cracking
Landforms
1. Wave-cut Platform
  1. Wave-Cut Notch
    1. Example
      1. Caused by high and low tide
  2. Example
    1. Wave-cut notch leaves cliff undercut
      1. Cliff collapses leaving area of land where cliff once was
        Repeats and leave platform
2. Headland
  1. Cave
    1. Arch
      1. Stack
        Stump
        Example
        Stack is eroded down to make stump
        Example
        The top of the arch collapses, leaving stacks
      2. Example
        A cave is eroded all the way through
    2. Example
      1. Where a fault in a cliff is eroded
  2. Example
    1. Harder rock that doesn't erode as easily
3. Bay
  1. Beach
    1. Example
      1. Less wave energy in bays because of wave refraction so deposition occurs
  2. Example
    1. Softer rock that erodes easier than the harder rock
4. Spit
  1. Example
    1. Prevailing wind means longshore drift occurs, taking sediment away from the coast. Occasionally, a secondary wind kicks in and curls the end of the spit around. The process repeats. If there is an estuary, the spit stops
5. Bar
  1. Tombolo
    1. Example
      1. A bar that connects the mainland to an island
  2. Example
    1. A spit that has grown across a bay, undisturbed, joining the two headlands. There is a lagoon on one side
6. Cove
  1. Example
    1. Fault in hard rock is eroded, with soft rock behind the hard rock
      1. Soft rock is further eroded to form a cove
Case studies
Waves
1. Constructive
  1. Weak backwash
    1. Strong swash
      1. Short waves
        Long length waves
        Deposition occurs
        Low frequency
2. Destructive
  1. Strong backwash
    1. Weak swash
      1. High waves
        Small length waves
        Erosion occurs
        High frequency
3. Terms
  1. Fetch - Distance of water over which the wind has blown to produce a wave.
Longshore drift
1. The prevailing wind carries sediment along the beach

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Geography - AQA - GCSE - Physical - Coasts

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	Created by Josh Anderson almost 10 years ago