GEOGRAPHY - Coastal Environments

Wave Action

Marine processes that erode, transport, and deposit material, influenced by factors like fetch, wind strength, and time.

Erosion

Destructive waves erode the coastline through hydraulic action, attrition, corrosion, and abrasion, leading to the breakdown of rocks.

Longshore Drift

Main process of deposition and transportation along the coast, influenced by prevailing winds and wave angles.

Weathering

Breakdown of rock in-situ through mechanical, chemical, and biological processes, weakening cliffs and making them vulnerable to erosion.

Mass Movement

Downhill movement of material under gravity, including soil creep, flow, slide, fall, and slump, influenced by various factors.

Headland and Bay

Formed in areas of resistant and less resistant rocks, creating headlands protruding into the sea and bays.

Cliff and Wave-cut Platform

Cliffs shaped by erosion and weathering, leading to the formation of wave-cut platforms at their base.

Cave, Arch, Stack, and Stump

Erosional features found on headlands due to wave action, forming caves, arches, stacks, and stumps.

Beach

Formed in sheltered areas through constructive wave movement, where swash is stronger than backwash, leading to deposition.

Spit

Extended stretch of sand or shingle extending from the shore due to changes in coastline shape, formed through longshore drift.

Bar

Formed when a spit grows across a bay, joining two headlands together, or offshore due to breaking waves.

Lagoon

Small body of water cut off from the sea, formed behind a bar or tombolo, may fill with sediment over time.

Tombolo

Formed when a spit joins the mainland to an island, like Chesil Beach in Dorset.

Barrier Island

Form parallel to the coast, different from a bar as it is open at one or both ends, shaped by deposition processes.

Influence of Geology

Shapes the coastline vertically and horizontally, impacting the formation of various landforms based on rock hardness.

Influence of Vegetation

Colonizes coastal landforms, fixing features like sand dunes, and plays a role in protecting and preserving coastal features.

Influence of Sea-level Changes & People

Rising and falling sea levels impact coastlines, with human activities transforming coastal landscapes.

Coral Reefs

Large deposits of calcium carbonate built by coral polyps in tropical and subtropical oceans

Factors affecting Coral Reefs

Temperature, light, water depth, and salinity control the distribution of coral reefs

Types of Coral Reefs

Fringing reefs, barrier reefs, and atolls are the main types of coral reef formations

Mangroves

Trees adapted to coastal environments, found in warm tropical waters with complex root systems

Sand Dunes

Accumulations of sand shaped by wind, supporting unique flora and fauna in coastal areas

Salt Marshes

Flat ecosystems in intertidal zones, formed in brackish water, with salt-tolerant plants

Coastal Ecosystems Nutrient Cycle

Nutrient cycling in coastal ecosystems involves biomass, litter, and seawater stores

Threats to Coastal Ecosystems

Industrialization, pollution, overfishing, and tourism pose threats to coral reefs, mangroves, sand dunes, and salt marshes.

Threats to Sand Dunes

Trampling of delicate, unfixed dunes, driving with 4x4 or quadbikes, sporting events, collecting shells, pollution, car parks, sand mining, and seaside town development.

Threats to Salt Marshes

Trampling, road divisions, dog walkers, noise, deforestation, industrialization, and agriculture.

Threats to Coral Reefs

Clearance of coastal forests, removal for building or sales, destruction leading to flooding, storm surges, and coral bleaching.

Threats to Mangroves

Tree removal leading to ecosystem collapse, storm vulnerability, wood use for timber and fuel, and unsupported malaria reduction.

Causes of Coastal Flooding

Storm surges, storm tides, tsunamis, king tides, sea level rise, and high river discharge after storms.

Prediction & Prevention of Flooding

Early warning systems, past records, modern technology, flood defences, emergency centers, education, planning, and buffer zones.

Coastal Strategies

Coastal cells, shoreline management plans, hold the line, advance the line, managed realignment, and do nothing approaches.

Hard Engineering Methods

Sea walls, groynes, rip-rap, gabions, revetments, and off-shore barriers for coastal defense.

Soft Engineering Methods

Beach replenishment, fencing, hedging, vegetation replacement, cliff regrading, and managed retreat for coastal protection.

Integrated Coastal Zone Management (ICZM)

Aims to use a combination of methods to reflect stakeholder needs and protect coastal areas effectively.