The Coastal Zone

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GCSE Physical Geography (AQA) Flashcards on The Coastal Zone, created by yusanr98 on 02/04/2014.
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Flashcards by yusanr98, updated more than 1 year ago
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Created by yusanr98 over 10 years ago
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Resource summary

Question Answer
Swash The movement of water as it rushes up the beach form the sea.
Backwash The movement of water as it drains back down the beach to the sea.
Fetch The length of water over which the wind has blown, affecting the size and strength of waves.
Constructive Waves Waves that push sand and pebbles further up the beach. They have a strong swash and a weak backwash so it helps to build up the beach.
Destructive Waves Waves that remove material from the beach. They have a weak swash and a strong backwash, pulling sand and pebbles down the beach when the water retreats.
Types of Erosion Abrasion, Attrition, Hydraulic Action and Solution
Erosion Wearing away rocks by natural process of rivers, ice, wind and sea.
Abrasion The erosion of a surface by pieces of rock carried in rivers and glaciers.
Attrition A process where the rocks and stones moving along in the water get knocked against each other and are gradually worn away.
Hydraulic Action Fast flowing water pushes air into cracks and the force of this causes the channel to break up over time.
Solution When minerals are dissolved in water and you can no longer see them.
Wave-cut Notch Waves hit the bottom of the cliff.
Wave-cut Platform Area of gently sloping or flat rocks exposed at low tide.
Headlands A narrow piece of land that projects from a coastline into the sea.
Bays A broad inlet of the sea where the land curves inwards.
Caves A natural underground chamber in a hillside or cliff.
Arches A shape resembling an arch.
Stacks A stump which was eroded and then collapsed.
Types of Transport Saltation, Solution, Traction and Suspension
Saltation Transports small stones or pebbles.
Solution Transports dissolved minerals or chemical.
Traction Transports large stones.
Suspension Transports tiny particle of sediment.
Long shore Drift The process which material is transported along the coast.
Beaches A pebbly or sandy shore, especially by the sea between high- and low-water marks.
How are Sand Dunes formed? Strong on-shore winds can also blow sand inland to form sand dunes at the back of the beach.
Spits A long ridge of sand and shingle, attached to the land at one end and in the open sea at the other.
Bars Narrow ridges of sand and shingle that grows across a bay as a result of long shore drift.
Marine Processes Whe the base of the cliff is eroded by hydraulic action and abrasion, making the cliff face steeper.
Sub-aerial processes The cliffs are attacked by weathering, such as freeze thaw.
Types of Weathering Mechanical weathering and Chemical Weathering
Mechanical Weathering (Freeze Thaw) This happens when the temperature drops below freezing at night and then rises during the day. any water held in the cracks in the rock freezes, expands and then thaws again. This happens over and over again until the rock is weakened and fragments break away.
Chemical Weathering (Solution) This occurs when the water reacts with the calcium carbonate in rocks like limestone and chalk. The calcium carbonate dissolves and is washed away in solution, weakening the rock.
Types of Mass Movement Sliding and Slumping
Sliding When a large chunks of rock slide down slope quickly without any warning.
Slumping The clay becomes saturated during heavy rainfall and oozes down towards the sea as part if a mud or debris flow.
Environmental Refugees Are people forced to move away from their home area because of changes in environmental or climatic conditions, such as drought, flooding, deforestation.
Types of Hard Engineering Sea walls, groynes, rock armour and gabions
Hard Engineering Building structure to deal with natural hazards, such as dams to prevent flooding.
Sea walls A wall built to prevent the sea eroding an area of land.
Groynes A long wooden fence built out into the sea from the beach to stop transport of sediment.
Rock Armour Large boulders pilled up at the foot of cliffs to absorbs the energy of the waves and stop them form eroding the cliff.
Gabions Rocks held in wire mesh cages and used to protect vulnerable areas from destructive waves.
Types of Soft Engineering Beach nourishment, sand dune regeneration, salt marsh creating, managed retreat
Soft Engineering Involves adapting to natural hazards and working with nature to limit damage. For example, planting trees to limit flood risk.
Beach Nourishment Adding more sand in front of cliffs.
Sand dune regeneration Allowing sand dunes to build up around wooden structure.
Salt marsh creation Allowing the sea to flood and spread over large area, creating salt marshes.
Managed retreat Abandoning the existing sea defences and building new ones further inland.
Shoreline management plan A Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) is a large-scale report, assessing the risks associated with coastal processes. It aims to help reduce these risks to people, property and the historic and natural environment.
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