Coasts

Question 1

What is the littoral zone

Answer 1

the zone from the highest tide mark to the permanently submerged areas

Question 2

What makes up the littoral zone

Answer 2

1. in land
2. backshore
3. foreshore
4. nearshore
5. offshore

Question 3

What are the types of coasts

Answer 3

1. rocky coasts
2. coastal plains
3. high and low energy coast
4. erosional and depositional coasts
5. reef coasts
6. deltaic coast (dominated by river sediment)

Question 4

What are emergent coasts

Answer 4

when sea levels fall, leaving behind more land

Question 5

What are submergent coasts

Answer 5

when sea levels rise, inundating the land

Question 6

What are characteristics of igneous rocks

Answer 6

1. crystaline
2. resistant
3. impermeable
4. rate of recession = 1mm/year
5. cooled and solidified magma or lava

Question 7

What are the characteristics of sedimentary rocks

Answer 7

1. jointed sedimentary (sand+limestone) are permeable
2. porous (chalk)
3. but shale is fine and compacted=impermeable
4. recession rate = 1cm-1m/year
5. formed in strata

Question 8

What are the characteristics of unconsolidated material

Answer 8

1. easily eroded
2. if compacted an impermeable layer is formed in strata
3. recession rate = 1m+/year

Question 9

What are the characteristics of metamorphic rocks

Answer 9

1. hard
2. resistant
3. impermeable
4. recrystalization in a solid state
5. formed when igneous or sedimentary rocks are either compressed or heated

Question 10

What is a concordant/Pacific coastline

Answer 10

when strata is parallel to the coast

Question 11

What is a discordant/Atlantic coastline

Answer 11

when strata is perpendicular to the coast

Question 12

what is lithology

Answer 12

rock type:
1. composition
2. what minerals are inside
3. type of rock

Question 13

what is geological structure

Answer 13

the arrangement of the rock

Question 14

what is strata

Answer 14

the layers of rock

Question 15

what are bedding planes

Answer 15

1. natural horizontal cracks and breaks in strata
2. caused by gaps in time formed during periods of rock formation

Question 16

What are joints

Answer 16

1. vertical cracks and fractures
2. caused by either contraction as sediments dry, or earth movement during uplift

Question 17

What are faults

Answer 17

1. large cracks formed when pressure or stress is subjected to a rock
2. this happens when the rock exceeds its internal strength, allowing the fault to move along the fault plain

Question 18

What are folds

Answer 18

1. curves in rock
2. caused when pressure from tectonic activity buckles and crumples the rock

Question 19

What is the dip of strata

Answer 19

the angle at which strata lies

Question 20

What types of cliffs do horizontal strata produce

Answer 20

steep-sided cliffs

Question 21

What type of cliffs do seaward dipping strata produce

Answer 21

steep-sided cliffs that are more susceptible rowards mass movement

Question 22

What types of cliffs do landward dipping strata produce

Answer 22

stable, steep-sided cliffs

Question 23

What are dalmatian coastlines

Answer 23

narrow lines of islands seperated by narrow sea channels

Question 24

What are Haff coastlines

Answer 24

long shallow lagoons seperated from the sea by a narrow sand bar or barrier beach

Question 25

How are embryo dunes formed

Answer 25

sand gathers around obstacles on the strand line

Question 26

what is the fetch

Answer 26

the distance from open water over which the wind blows

Question 27

How do embryo dunes develop into fore and then yellow dunes

Answer 27

more sand accumulates, and plant diversity increases

Question 28

How are climax communities formed

Answer 28

after a series of plant changes

Question 29

What is the term for sand dune succession

Answer 29

psammosere succession

Question 30

What is the term for salt marsh development

Answer 30

halosere succession

Question 31

What are salt marshes

Answer 31

coastal wetlands which are flooded and drained by salt water from tides

Question 32

Why are salt marshes marshy

Answer 32

soil could be composed of deep mud and peat

Question 33

What is peat made of

Answer 33

decomposing plant metter, often several feet thick

Question 34

What are the characteristics of peat

Answer 34

1. waterlogged 2. root-filled 3. very spongy

Question 35

what is wave refraction

Answer 35

when waves bend as they move over different depths

Question 36

what is a seidment cell

Answer 36

a self contained stretch of coastline

Question 37

how are drift aligned beaches formed

Answer 37

waves break perpendicular to the coast

Question 38

how are swash aligned beaches formed

Answer 38

waves break parallel to the coast

Question 39

what is mechanical weathering

Answer 39

the break down of rocks due to an exersion of physical force

Question 40

What is biological weathering

Answer 40

the process of speeding up mechanical or chemical weathering through the actions of organisms

Question 41

what is chemical weathering

Answer 41

the breakdown of rocks through chemical reactions, resulting in a new chemical compound

Question 42

what is mass movement

Answer 42

the downslope movement of sediment due to gravity

Question 43

what is mass movement dependent on

Answer 43

1. geology 2. marine processes 3. weathering 4. water content 5. saturation 6. density

Question 44

what is rockfall

Answer 44

pieces of rock falls off the cliff face due to weathering (usually freeze-thaw)

Question 45

what is mudflow

Answer 45

when saturated soil flows downhill

Question 46

what is a landslide

Answer 46

when large blocks of rock slide downhill

Question 47

what is a rotational slip/slump

Answer 47

when saturated soil slumps down a curved surface

Question 48

what is scree

Answer 48

broken rock fragments at the base of a cliff

Question 49

what is dynamic equilibrium

Answer 49

a state of constant change to keep balance

Question 50

what cause short-term changes to sea level

Answer 50

1. tides 2. low pressure systems 3. strong winds

Question 51

What is eustatic change

Answer 51

the exchange of water between oceans and ice sheets/glaciers

Question 52

what is isostatic change

Answer 52

when the Earth's crust changes to seek equilibrium after the (un)loading of ice

Question 53

How do tectonic processes change the sea level

Answer 53

displace the crust

Question 54

what is accretion

Answer 54

when new land mass is created through the addition of sediment

Question 55

what is subsidence

Answer 55

small scale land sinkage

Question 56

what is the thermohaline circulation

Answer 56

a large scale movement of sea water

Question 57

what is thermal expansion

Answer 57

as water gets hotter, it expands

Question 58

what is adaptation in regard to flooding

Answer 58

making changes to reduce the impacts of flooding when it occurs