Coastal processes
- Created by: Bisma
- Created on: 05-04-18 18:32
Marine processes caused by sea erosion (erosion, transportation and deposition)
Subaerial processes that aren't directly caused by sea e.g. weathering, runoff and mass movement
Six ways waves erode the coastline:
1) Corrasion/abrasion - bits of rock and sediment transported by waves smash and grind against rocks and cliffs, breaking bits and smoothing surfaces
2) Hydraulic action - air in cracks in cliffs compress when waves crash in, causing the pressure to be exerted and breaks off rock pieces.
3) Cavilation - as waves recede, compressed air expands, exerting pressure on the rock, causing pieces to break off
4) Wave quarrying - energy of a wave as it breaks against the cliff is enough to detach bits of rock
5) Solution/corrasion - soluble rocks (limestone/chalk) gradually dissolve by seawater
6) Attrition - Bits of rock in water smash against each other, breaking into smaller bits
Transportation - eroded material being moved:
Four main processes:
1) Solution - Dissolvable substances carried along in the water particles are whipped up by turbulence and carried along in the water.
3) Saltation - Large particles such as pebbles/gravel are too heavy to be carried in suspension, instead the force of water causes them to bounce along the seabed
4) Traction - large particles e.g. boulders are pushed along the sea by the force of the water
Longshore Drift - these processes can transport sediment along the shore
- Swash carries sediment up the beach parallel to the prevailing wind
- Backwash carries sediment down the beach at a right angle to the shoreline
- Sediment is moved along the…
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