TUK'sEPL - Glossary

Abrasion

The process of erosion where loose material and sediment 'sandpapers' the walls and floors of a river, cliff, or glacier.

Attrition

The process where rocks bang against each other, chipping away to make smaller, smoother rocks.

Backshore

The upper beach closest to the land, including any cliffs or sand dunes.

Beach Nourishment

The addition of sand and sediment to an eroding beach by humans to prevent erosion and recession of cliffs or sand dunes.

Biological Weathering

The process where rocks are broken apart by vegetation, roots, or chemical reactions from animal faeces.

Concordant Coast

A coastline where bands of alternate geology run parallel to the coast.

Corrasion

The process of mechanical erosion where material and sediment in the sea is flung at the cliff-face as waves break against it, breaking up the rocks.

Chemical Weathering

The process where weak acid in rainwater dissolves chemical compounds in the rock.

Discordant Coast

A coastline where bands of alternate geology run perpendicular to the shore.

Drainage Basin

The area of land drained by a river and its tributaries.

Dredging

The process of digging up rubbish and sediment from the bottom of a river.

Embankments

The banks of a river built up in brick and concrete to increase the channel capacity.

Estuary

The point where a river meets an ocean, often muddy or silty, and sometimes exposed at low tide or hazardous to traverse in a boat due to sandbanks.

Fetch

The length of water over which the wind has traveled.

Floodplain

The low-lying and wide floor of a river valley that acts as an overspill for the river when its channel is full.

Floodplain Zoning

Controlling where houses and buildings are built relative to the river to reduce the risk of flooding.

Freeze Thaw

A form of physical sub-aerial weathering where water freezes in the cracks of a rock, expands, and enlarges the crack, weakening the rock over time.

Geology

The physical structure and arrangement of a rock.

Groyne

A form of hard-engineering where low-lying concrete or wooden walls are constructed perpendicular to the seafront to trap sediment and reduce erosion caused by longshore drift or winds.

Hard Management

The use of concrete structures such as groynes, sea walls, and rock armour to reduce or halt the recession of a coastline.

Highlands

An area of land at a high elevation with a larger relief.

Hydraulic Action

The process where the pressure of compressed air forced into cracks in a rock face weakens and breaks apart the rock.

Igneous Rock

Rock that has formed from volcanic activity, often cooled magma on the Earth's surface.

Impermeable

A rock that does not allow water to pass through it.

Levee

The banks of a river.

Longshore Drift

The transportation of sediment along a beach determined by the direction of the prevailing wind.

Lowlands

An area of land with a small relief, typically flat and at a low elevation.

Mass Movement

The large downhill movement of material, usually from a cliff-face, caused by gravity and weak rock due to erosion.

Mechanical Weathering

The breakdown of rocks due to physical forces rather than chemical reactions.

Metamorphic Rock

Rock formed under intense pressure and heat, often close to tectonic plate boundaries.

Permeable

A rock that allows water to pass through it.

Relief

The difference in height of land for a particular region, with a large relief indicating a significant difference between the lowest and highest points.

Rock Armour

Large rocks or concrete blocks used as barricades to reduce marine erosion at the base of cliffs.

Saltation

The transportation of smaller sediment along the sea bed, pushed by currents, bouncing rather than being picked up by the flow of water.

Salt Marsh

An area in sheltered bays or behind spits where salt and minerals build up, allowing vegetation to establish and further stabilize the marsh.

Sand Dune

A depositional landform where sand and sediment accumulate around driftwood over time.