Weathering
The breakdown of rocks in situ, which includes types such as mechanical, chemical, and biological.
Mass movement
The downhill movement of material due to gravity, including rockfall, landslides, mudflows, and rotational slip.
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Flashcards covering key concepts and terms related to tectonic hazards and coastal processes in GCSE AQA Geography.
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Weathering
The breakdown of rocks in situ, which includes types such as mechanical, chemical, and biological.
Mass movement
The downhill movement of material due to gravity, including rockfall, landslides, mudflows, and rotational slip.
Erosion
The wearing away of the coastline by the sea through hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition, and solution.
Transportation in coastal processes
The movement of sediment along the coast by methods such as longshore drift, traction, saltation, suspension, and solution.
Deposition
When the sea loses energy and drops the material it is carrying, typically in sheltered areas like bays.
Longshore drift
The zigzag movement of sediment along the coast, caused by waves approaching at an angle.
Constructive waves
Waves that build up beaches with strong swash and weak backwash.
Destructive waves
Waves that erode coastlines with weak swash and strong backwash.
Headlands and bays formation
Formed on discordant coastlines; soft rock erodes faster to create bays, while hard rock remains as headlands.
Cliff and wave-cut platform formation
Erosion at the base of cliffs forms a wave-cut notch, leading to cliff collapse and a flat platform.
Caves, arches, stacks, and stumps formation
Erosion of cracks in headlands creates caves that widen into arches, which collapse to form stacks and stumps.
Beach formation
Formed by constructive waves depositing sand and shingle in sheltered areas like bays.
Spit
A long, narrow ridge of sand or shingle connected to land at one end, formed by longshore drift and deposition.
Bar and lagoon
A bar is formed when a spit joins two headlands, creating a lagoon behind it.
Hard engineering strategies
Methods such as sea walls, rock armour, and groynes used for coastal management, usually expensive but effective.
Soft engineering strategies
More sustainable coastal management approaches like beach nourishment, dune regeneration, and managed retreat.
Managed retreat
Allowing controlled flooding of low-lying areas to create natural buffer zones like salt marshes.
Groynes advantages and disadvantages
Advantages: trap sediment and build beaches. Disadvantages: starve down-drift areas of sediment and visually intrusive.
Sea walls advantages and disadvantages
Advantages: provide strong protection. Disadvantages: expensive and can reflect waves back, causing further erosion.
Holderness Coast
East Yorkshire coast, known for rapid erosion due to soft boulder clay and strong waves.
Holderness Coast erosion reasons
Caused by soft geology, strong waves from the North Sea, longshore drift, and narrow beaches.
Holderness Coast coastal management
Involves hard engineering strategies such as rock armour and groynes, though erosion continues further down the coast.