Coastal systems key words

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Abrasion
The 'sandpapering effect' as pebbles and sand grinds over rocky platforms smoothing them
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Arch
A headland that had been partly broken through by the sea to form a thin-roofed arch.
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Attrition
Where rock fragments carried by the sea collide with one another causing them to become smaller and rounder.
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Backwash
The backward movement of water down a beach when a wave has broken.
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Bar
A spit which has grown across a bay creating a cut off area behind it. Sometimes called a Barrier Beach
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Bay
A broad coastal inlet often with a beach.
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Beach
A deposit of sand or shingle at the coast, often found at the head of a bay.
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Beach nourishment
Adding sand or shingle to an existing beach to make it higher and broader. Usually brought onshore by barge.
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Biological weathering
Weathering caused by living things such as tree roots or burrowing animals.
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Cave
A hollowed-out feature at the base of an eroding cliff.
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Chemical weathering
The process where chemical reactions change or destroy minerals when rocks come into contact with water and/or air.
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Cliff
A steep or vertical face of rock often found at the coast.
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Climatic climax
The final stage of uninterrupted vegetation succession (usually woodland).
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Constuctive wave
A powerful wave with strong swash that surges up a beach. This type of wave has a stronger swash than backwash.
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Corrasion
The process by which small rocks and pebbles are hurled at the cliff by the force of the waves.
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Cove
A landform created when a band of hard rock is breached and the softer rock behind is quickly eroded leaving a horseshoe shape.
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Crest
The top of a wave.
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Destructive wave
A wave formed by a local storm that crashes down onto a beach and has a powerful backwash. This type of wave has a stronger backwash than swash.
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Dune regeneration
The active protection and stabilisation of sand dunes which acts as a natural and effective buffer to the sea. Areas can be fenced off or species like Marram grass can be planted to stabilise the dunes.
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Fetch
The distance of open water over which the wind can blow.
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Freezethaw weathering
Weathering involving repeated cycles of freezing and thawing.
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Groynes
Large linear structures that are built at right angles to the shoreline. They are built to stop the movement of sediment due to longshore drift.
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Hard engineering
Building artificial structures such as sea walls aimed at controlling natural processes
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Headland
A point of usually high land jutting out into the sea.
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Hydraulic power
The sheer power of the waves breaking rock apart as they force air into cracks in the rock.
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Lagoon
A shallow body of water separated from the sea by a Bar
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Landslide
When large blocks of detatched rock and soil slide downhill.
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Longshore drift
The transport of sediment along a stretch of coastline caused by waves approaching the beach at an angle.
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Managed retreat
Allowing low lying areas of low land value along the coast to be flooded in a controlled way.
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Marsh creation (managed retreat)
Allowing low lying coastal areas to be flooded by the sea to become a salt marsh. The salt marsh then acts as an effective barrier to the sea.
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Mechanical weathering
A process where physical forces break down or reduce rock into smaller fragments.
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Mudflow
When saturated soil and weak rock flow down a slope.
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Pioneer plant
The first plant species to colonise an area that is well adapted to living in a harsh environment (eg Halophyte)
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Pores
holes in rock.
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Revetements
Sloped or slatted structures made of wood or concrete which absorb wave energy recuding erosive power.
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Rock armour (riprap)
Large piles of hard rock (eg Gneiss granite) placed at the foot of a cliff or along the coastline to break up waves and absorb the energy of the wave. This reduces erosion.
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Rockfall
The collapse of a cliff face or the fall of individual rocks from the cliff.
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Rotational slip/slump
When saturated soil and weak rock slump along a curved slip plane
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Saltation
A hopping or bouncing motion of particles too heavy to be suspended.
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Saltmarsh
A low lying coastal wetland mostly extending between low tide and high tide.
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Scree
Deposits of rock fragments found at the foot of rock outcrops
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Seawall
A Sloping/Curved/Stepped wall made of concrete that prevents the sea reaching the cliff and reflects wave energy.
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Sediment
Loose roch debris that has been weathered or eroded before being transported and then deposited.
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Shore managment plan (SMP)
An integrated coastal management plan for a stretch of coastline in England and Wales
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Soft engineering
A sustainable approach to managing the coast without using artificial structures.
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Solution (coastal transport)
dissolved chemicals eg calcium bicarbonate derived from limestone or chalk
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Solution (Marine process)
The dissolving of calcium containing rocks like chalk and limestone by seawater.
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Solution weathering
dissolving of rocks or minerals by rainwater. This is a means of transportation as well as an erosion process.
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Spit
A finger of new land made of sand or shingle jutting out into the sea from the coast where there is a sudden change in direction of the coastline.
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Stack
An isolated pinnacle of rock sticking out into the sea
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Stump
A small landform remaining after a stack has been eroded and has collapsed. Will be covered up at high tide.
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Suspension
Particles carried (suspended) by the water.
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Swash
The forward movement of a wave up the beach.
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Thermal expansion
When water expands as it gets warmer taking up more space. This is one of the causes of sea level rise.
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Traction
Large pebbles rolled along the seabed.
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Vegetation succession
A sequence of vegetation species which colonise an environment
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Wave-cut notch
A small indentation (or notch) cut into a cliff by coastal erosion found between the low and high tide marks.
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Wave-cut platform
A wide, gently sloping rocky surface at the foot of a cliff
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Weathering
The break up or decay of rocks in their original place (in situ) on or close to the earths surface.
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

Arch

Back

A headland that had been partly broken through by the sea to form a thin-roofed arch.

Card 3

Front

Attrition

Back

Preview of the front of card 3

Card 4

Front

Backwash

Back

Preview of the front of card 4

Card 5

Front

Bar

Back

Preview of the front of card 5
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