Coasts terms

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  • Created by: jxsshu
  • Created on: 19-07-20 13:27
accretion
Coastal sediment being deposited on a beach making it wider
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berm
A ridge or plateau on the beach formed by the deposition of beach material by wave action
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block separation
Rocks with a clear pattern of joints and bedding plains break apart in the form of blocks
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burial and compaction
Where organic matter becomes buried and is then compressed by the overlying sediment
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chemical weathering
The breakdown or decay of rocks involving a chemical change
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climatic climax vegetation
The vegetation that would evolve in a climate region if the serial progression is not interrupted by human activity, tectonic process etc.
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closed system
A system with no inputs or outputs
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constructive wave
A wave with a strong swash that surges up a beach usual forming a berm
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cusp
Crescent shaped beach formations with graded sediment; coarse material collects at the horns and finer material collects at the bay Area.
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Dalmatian coast
A submergent landscape of ridges and valleys running parallel to the coast
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destructive wave
A wave formed by a local storm that crashes onto the beach and has a powerful backwash
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drift-aligned beach
Formed when beach deposits are transferred along a coastline by longshore drift and accumulate to form a wide beach at a headland where the lateral drift is interrupted
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dynamic equilibrium
A state of balance where inputs equal outputs in a system that is constantly changing
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eustatic change
Variations in sea level resulting from changes in the amount of liquid entering the oceans
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exfoliation
The peeling or flaking of the outer skin of rocks due to intense heating and cooling
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flows/transfers
the process of moving water or carbon from one store to another
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frost heave
Small scale upwards displacement of soil particles as a result from the freezing and expansion of water just below ground surface
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granular disintergration
The crumbling and breaking down of rocks made of grains (such as granite and sandstone into grains of sand)
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halosere
Vegetation succession that originated in an area of saline water
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high energy environments
Coastline with powerful waves where rates of erosion exceed deposition
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hydrosphere
Vegetation succession that originated in an area of fresh water
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lithosere
A vegetation succession that originated on a bare rocky surface
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low energy environment
Coastline with waves of relatively low power where rates of deposition exceeds rates of erosion
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negative feedback
A cyclical sequence of events that damps down or denaturalises the effects of a system
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nutrient cycle
Recycling of nutrients between living organisms and the environment
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offshore bars
Submerged (or partly exposed) ridges of sand or coarse sediment created by waves offshore from the coast
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open system
A system with inputs from and outputs to other systems
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pioneer community
The flora and fauna that first colonise a habitat
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pioneer species
The first plants that colonise an area, usually with special adaptations
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positive feedback
A cyclical sequence of events that amplifies or increases change
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psammosere
Vegetation succession that originated in a coastal sand dune area
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raised beach
The result of isostatic recovery which raises wave-cut platforms and their beaches above the present sea level
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resilience
The phychological quality of strength of character, of being able to respond positively to adversity
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runnel
The dips in the foreshore area of a beach between ridges. They are drained down the beach by channels that break the ridges
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salt crystallisation
Growth of salt crystals within the rock causes it the break apart
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saltation
Rocks or san that is moved in a series of leaps across a river or sea bed or the desert floor
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salt marsh
Coastal ecosystem formed on mudflats largely comprising of salt tolerant plants
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sediment budget
An attempt to quantify the various stores and transfers associated with sediment movement
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sediment cell
A conceptual way of describing sediment movement from a source, through various transfers to a sink or output. The movement is usually cyclical
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sere
A complete vegetation succession
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seral stage
A stage within the sere
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shattering
The breakdown of rocks that do not have separate grains or a clear pattern of joints to form angular fragments
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store
An accumulation or quantity of water and carbon
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suspension
Sand that is whisked up and carried by the wind often over great distances. This also applies to sediments being carried along within a water body
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swash-aligned beaches
A beach formed in a low-energy environment by waves roughly parallel to the shore
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symbiotic
Diverse organisms that exist in the same environment, often dependent on each other to survive and prosper
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system
An approach that usually takes the form of a diagram representing the different components and their inter-relationships or links between them
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tombolo
Ridge of beach material that has formed between an island and the mainland
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weathering
The breakdown or decay of rocks in their original place at, or close to, the surface. Chemical weathering involves the absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere
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Other cards in this set

Card 2

Front

A ridge or plateau on the beach formed by the deposition of beach material by wave action

Back

berm

Card 3

Front

Rocks with a clear pattern of joints and bedding plains break apart in the form of blocks

Back

Preview of the back of card 3

Card 4

Front

Where organic matter becomes buried and is then compressed by the overlying sediment

Back

Preview of the back of card 4

Card 5

Front

The breakdown or decay of rocks involving a chemical change

Back

Preview of the back of card 5
View more cards

Comments

Ellenor Jacobson

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Thanks, very useful

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