Landscapes and features of littoral zone 1.1

What are the inputs of a coast

• Movement of sediment from waves

• Precipitation

• Wind generated waves

What are the outputs of a coast

• Eroded material taken out to sea

• Ocean currents

• Evaporation

What is the Littoral zone

Area of coast that is affected by wave action

• It’s constantly changing due to interaction between processes on land and sea

What are the 4 zones of littoral zone

• Back shore- above influence of wave actions

• Foreshore- intertidal area between low and high tide

• Nearshore- breaker zone (friction between seabed and waves cause then to break

• Offshore- area outside influence of waves

Characteristics of high energy coasts

• Destructive waves

• Higher rates of erosion than deposition

• Exposed to strong winds and long fetches

• Headlands, wave-cut platforms

Characteristics of low energy coasts

• Constructive waves

• Sheltered locations with short fetch

• Higher rates of deposition than erosion

• Beaches, spits, salt marshes

Where do rocky coasts form

Area with more resistant to geology

Where are steep cliffs found along a rocky coastline

High energy environment

Where a cliffs with gentler slope found in rocky coastline

Low energy environment

Where do coastal plains occur

• Where land gradually slopes down towards sea

• Tend to be low relief

What are coastal plain landscapes and how are they formed

• Low energy coastal environments

• Wave power isn’t strong so there’s more deposition than erosion

An example of a coastal plain landscape

The Wash

Has many marshes due to poor drainage

Along rocky coasts, is erosion or deposition dominant

Erosion is more dominant

Long term processes of coats

Coastal systems affected by long term factors like geology and sea level changes

Long term factor- Geology

Coasts defined as rocky, sandy, estuarine

Also be defined as concordant and discordant

Long term factor- sea level change

Sea level changes due to global warming, tectonic activity

This leads to emergent or submergent coasts

Short term processes of coasts

Waves, rides, storm events- create coasts that are

Retreating or advancing

High or low energy

Dominated by land-based processes or marine processes