Edexcel A-Level Geography: Coasts 100% ACCURATE GRADE A

Global sea level change (sea level changes relative to the land) Define isostatic sea level change. Local sea level change (land changes relative to the sea) Name 2 human factors that affect the rate of coastal erosion. - Physical sea defences such as a sea wall, rock armour, groynes and gabions can slow rates of coastal er Define eustatic sea level change. osion. - TGS (Terminal Groyne Syndrome) can accelerate erosion further down the coast. Name 2 physical factors that affect the rate of coastal erosion. - Chemical weathering (only really significant at the chalk cliffs at Flamborough Head). - Freeze-thaw weathering - The alternate wetting and drying of boulder clay makes it crumbly and weak in dry periods. - Slumping Define permeable. Allows liquids or gases to pass through it. Name 6 key stakeholders in the erosion of the Holderness Coastline. - Local residents - Farmers - Tourists - Environmental groups - Developers - Local Council How are storm surges formed? Low pressure causes the sea level to rise around the coast and winds push this onto land. Why is Bangladesh vulnerable to coastal flooding and storm surges? Bangladesh is the lowest lying country in the world and 156 million people live on a delta (of the 163 million population). Define advancing coast. A coast in which the sea level has dropped. Define retreating coast. A coast in which the sea level rises. Define concordant coast. Layers of hard rock and soft rock are parallel to the coast. Define discordant coast. Layers of hard rock and soft rock are perpendicular to the coast. What landforms are formed at a concordant coast? Coves What landforms are formed at a discordant coast? Headlands and bays Name an example of a concordant coast. Lulworth Cove Name an example of a discordant coast. Swanage Bay and Durlston Head Name an example of a coast that has horizontal strata. Lyme Regis Name an example of a coast that has deformed (folded) strata. Lulworth Cove Name an emergent coastal landform. - Raised beach - Fossil cliff Name a submergent coastal landform. - Ria - Fjord - Barrier island Describe a rocky coastline. There is a clear distinction between land and sea as rocky coastlines are steep and cliffed. Describe a coastal plain. There is an unclear line between the sea and the coast as the beach gradually slopes towards the sea across an area of deposited sediment. Name two key characteristics that influence cliff profiles. - The resistance of the rock. - The dip of rock strata in relation to the coastline. Define dip. The angle at which rock strata lie. What are the 4 types of dip? - Seaward dip, high angle - Seaward dip, low angle - Horizontal dip - Landward dip Define fault. A fracture zone between two blocks of rock. Define joint. A fracture dividing into two sections that moved away from each other. Define fissure. A long narrow crack in the rock. Define folding. A fold is a bend in the rock strata and folding is a type of earth movement resulting from the horizontal compression of rock layers by internal forces of the earth along plate boundaries. Define anticline. A ridge or fold of stratified rock in which the strata slope downwards from the crest. Define syncline. A ridge or fold of stratified rock in which the strata slope upwards from the trough. Name an example of a permeable rock. Sandstone and limestone. Name an example of an impermeable rock. Clay and most igneous and metamorphic rocks. Describe the formation of igneous rocks. Hot molten rock crystallizes and solidifies, forming interlocking crystals. Describe the formation of metamorphic rocks. High pressure causes crystals to be orientated in the same direction. Describe the formation of sedimentary rocks. Layers compressed together under high pressures, leaving lots of fractures in the rock. Name an example of an igneous rock. Diorite, granite, basalt Name an example of a metamorphic rock. Slate, schist, marble. Name an example of a sedimentary rock. Sandstone, limestone, shale. Order the 3 main rock types in erosion rates from slowest to fastest. Igneous, metamorphic, sedimentary. Define halophyte. Salt-tolerant species. Define xerophyte. A plant which requires very little water. Define psammosere. Sand dune Define halosere. Salt marsh Define porosity. The ability for something to hold water based on the amount of void space it has inside. Name a type of vegetation found in fore dunes. - Sea rocket - Couch grass Name a type of vegetation found in yellow dunes. Marram grass Name a type of vegetation found in grey dunes. Low shrubs (brambles) What are salt marshes? Areas of flat, silty sediments that accumulate around estuaries or lagoons. Where do salt marshes develop? - in sheltered areas where deposition occurs. - where salt and fresh water meet - where there are no strong tides or currents to prevent sediment deposition and accumulation Name a type of vegetation found in salt marshes. - Eelgrass - Cordgrass - Glasswort Name some characteristics of a low energy coastal environment. - Alluvial plain - Lots of deposition - Spits and bars formed - Lots of long shore drift - Slow waves Name some characteristics of a high energy coastal environment. - Fast waves - Lots of erosion and hydraulic action - Rocky cliffs Name an example of a low energy coastal environment. Studland Bay Name an example of a high energy coastal environment. Lyme Regis, West Bay What does wave size depend on? - Strength of the wind. - Duration the wind blows for. - Water depth. - Wave fetch Name 4 types of coastal erosion. - Hydraulic action - Abrasion - Attrition - Solution What can mark the end of a sediment cell? - Rivers - Change in direction of land - Topography Define source. Places where sediment is generated. Define transfer zones. Places where sediment is moving along the shore. Define sinks. Locations where the dominant process is deposition. Define pioneer species. The first colonising plants in a sand dune during plant succession. Define plant succession. The process during which plant species take over the sand dune until a balance is reached. Define climatic climax community. The final community will be adjusted to the climatic conditions of the area. What are the four different types of mass movement? - Soil creep - Earth flows - Landslides - Mudflows Name a location where tectonic shifts have affected the coastline. Portland (UK) Name 3 deltas. - The Nile River Delta - The Ganges Brahmaputra - Yangtzee Delta Describe destructive waves. Destructive waves have a stronger backwash than swash, which 'plunges' onto the beach. Describe constructive waves. Constructive waves have a stronger swash than backwash and 'spills' onto the beach. What is hydraulic action? Air in cracks in cliffs is compressed when waves crash in. The pressure exerted by the compressed air breaks off rock pieces. What is abrasion? Sediment grind along a rock platform, much like sand paper. Over time the rock becomes smooth. What is attrition? Waves smash rocks and pebbles on the shore into each other, and they break and become smoother. What is solution? Sea water dissolves certain types of rocks. In the UK, chalk and limestone cliffs are prone to this type of erosion. What is a spit? Long narrow ridges of sand and shingle which is projected into the sea from the coastline. What is a barrier beach? Where a beach or spit extends across a bay to join two headlands. What is a tombolo? A tombolo is a beach that has formed between an island and the mainland. What is a cuspate foreland? A triangular-shaped accumulation of land that extends out from the main coastline. Name an example of a location where there is a spit. Poole Harbour Name an example of a location where there is a barrier beach. Loe Bar in Cornwall or Start Bay in Devon. Name an example of a location where there is a tombolo. St Ninian's Isle Name an example of a location where there is a cuspate foreland. Dungeness Describe rock falls and talus slopes. Rock falls are most likely to occur when strong, jointed and steep rock faces/cliffs are exposed to mechanical weathering such as freeze-thaw. The material, once broken away from the source, either bounces or falls vertically to form scree (or talus) at the foot of the slope/cliff. Th CONTINUED