AQA Geography A Level & AS Physical Geography: Coastal Systems and Landscapes Glossary

Flashcards covering key terms related to coastal systems and landscapes from AQA Geography A Level & AS Physical Geography notes.

What is a sediment cell?

A conceptual way of describing sediment movement from a source, through various transfers to a sink or output. This movement is usually cyclical. (There are 11 around England + Wales)

What is a Shoreline Management Plan (SMP)?

A plan that takes into consideration the risks of coastal processes and attempts to identify sustainable coastal defence and management options, e.g., Holderness Coast SMP.

Describe a slump (or landslip).

When a block of land moves very rapidly downhill but its slide surface is curved rather than flat, characterised by a sharp break of slope and the formation of a scar.

What is soft-engineering in coastal management?

Attempts to work with natural processes in order to protect coasts and manage changes in sea level, e.g., sand dune regeneration.

What is soil creep?

An extremely slow form of movement of individual soil particles downhill, shown by ripples + terracettes on the surface.

What is solifluction?

Similar to soil creep but specific to cold periglacial environments. It is the downhill flow of saturated soil, caused when the surface layer thaws out but lies on top of impermeable frozen ground.

What is solution (dissolved load) in geography?

Chemicals dissolved in the water, transported and precipitated elsewhere; a type of transportation.

What is solution (corrosion) as a type of erosion?

When weak acids in seawater dissolve alkaline rock (such as chalk or limestone), or the alkaline cement that bonds rock particles together; a type of erosion.

What is a spit?

A long, narrow feature, made of sand or shingle, that extends from the land into the sea (or part of the way across an estuary) as a ridge of sediment.

How is a stack formed?

An isolated pillar of rock formed when the top of an arch collapses, e.g., High Stacks @ Flamborough Head.

What is a stump in coastal landscapes?

A low isolated pillar of rock formed when a stack collapses. It may only appear above the surface at low tide.

What is a submergent coastline?

A coastline created when a rise in sea level floods the coast, e.g., ria @ Falmouth, Cornwall.

Describe suspension in terms of sediment transport.

Sand that is whisked up and carried by the wind often over great distances. This also applies to sediments being carried along within a water body, e.g., a wave or current.

What is a swash-aligned beach?

A beach formed in a low-energy environment by waves breaking roughly parallel to the shore.