Environmental Change & Coastal Change

This flashcard set covers the definitions and core concepts of environmental change, coastal processes, and management strategies based on the Year 10 HASS lecture.

Environmental change

Alterations in ecosystems, landscapes and natural processes over time, which may occur naturally or as a result of human activities.

Natural Environmental Change

Changes that occur without human involvement as part of Earth's natural processes, such as storms, floods, bushfires, and volcanic eruptions.

Human-Induced Environmental Change

Changes resulting from human activities, such as urban development, pollution, mining, and climate change caused by greenhouse gas emissions.

Western Australia Coastal Population

Approximately 80% of the population, or around 2.1 million people, live within 10 kilometres of the coast.

Dynamic environments

Beaches where waves, tides, storms, and wind continually move sand, causing them to erode and rebuild naturally.

Coastal degradation

The decline or deterioration of the coastal environment, often identified as a key word in coastal change study.

Erosion

A natural process where the land or coastline is worn away over time, causing it to retreat inland.

Deposition

The geological process in which sediments, soil and rocks are added to a landform or land mass.

Sediment

Naturally occurring material that is broken down by processes of weathering and erosion, and is subsequently transported by the action of wind, water, or ice.

Sea Level Rise

An increase in the level of the world's oceans due to the effects of climate change, increasing the risk of coastal flooding.

Storm Surge

A rising of the sea as a result of atmospheric pressure changes and wind associated with a storm, leading to larger waves and increased erosion.

Longshore drift

A natural cause of coastal change involving the movement of material along a coastline by wave action.

Hard Engineering

The construction of physical structures (like seawalls or groynes) to protect coastlines from natural processes, providing immediate but often costly protection.

Soft Engineering

Coastal protection that focuses on working with natural processes (such as dune revegetation), often being more sustainable and environmentally friendly.

Managed Retreat

A coastal management strategy that allows areas to flood or erode by relocating human settlements and infrastructure inland.

Seawalls

A hard engineering technique involving the construction of a wall to protect coastlines from wave energy.

Groynes

Hard engineering structures built perpendicular to the shore to trap sand and prevent it from being moved by longshore drift.

Sand nourishment

A soft engineering technique where sand is added to a beach to replace material that has been eroded.

Environmental sustainability

The responsible management of natural resources to fulfill current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet theirs.

SEE Framework

A tool used by geographers to analyse the Social, Economic, and Environmental impacts of environmental change.