Edexcel Geography A-level Coastal Landscapes and Change: Classifying Coasts
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Questions and Answers

What is one of the similarities between corrosion (solution) and carbonation weathering?

  • Both are caused by acidic seawater
  • Both result in erosion of limestone (correct)
  • Both are accelerated by high temperatures
  • Both only occur in alkaline rocks
  • Which process involves the breaking waves exerting a pressure of up to 30 tonnes per m² on a cliff face?

  • Hydraulic Action
  • Wave Quarrying (correct)
  • Carbonation Weathering
  • Abrasion
  • What factor contributes to the highest erosion rates in coastal landscapes?

  • Heavy rainfall (correct)
  • Low tide
  • Summer season
  • Short fetch of the waves
  • During which season are destructive waves the largest and most destructive according to the text?

    <p>Winter</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What impact do waves approaching the coast perpendicular to the cliff have on erosion rates?

    <p>Increase erosion rates</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which of the following is NOT a factor contributing to high erosion rates?

    <p>Low tide</p> Signup and view all the answers

    How does heavy rainfall impact coastal erosion according to the text?

    <p>Weakens cliffs by percolating through rock</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What defines the littoral zone?

    <p>The area of the coast subject to wave action</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which factors contribute to the variations in the littoral zone?

    <p>Changes in sea level and climate change</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What is the backshore area within the littoral zone characterized by?

    <p>Only affected by exceptionally high tides</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Valentine's Classification describes the range of __________ that can occur.

    <p>Coastlines</p> Signup and view all the answers

    What causes an advancing coastline according to Valentine's Classification?

    <p>Deposition being the prominent process</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Which process describes the removal of sediment from a coastline by different types of erosion?

    <p>'Erosion'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    In coastal landscapes, what process may cause a coastline to retreat?

    <p>'Submerging' of land</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'Post-glacial adjustment' primarily results in what type of sea level change?

    <p>'Isostatic'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'Isostatic sea level change' is related to what phenomenon?

    <p>'Negative feedback loop'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    'Erosion' is a result of __________ acting by themselves.

    <p>'One type'</p> Signup and view all the answers

    Study Notes

    Classifying Coasts

    • A coast can be considered as an open system, receiving inputs from outside the system and transferring outputs away from the coast and into other systems.
    • These systems may be terrestrial, atmospheric or oceanic and can include the rock, water and carbon cycles.

    Sediment Cells

    • Coasts can be split into sections called sediment cells.
    • Sediment cells are typically considered a closed-system in terms of sediment.
    • There are eleven sediment cells in England and Wales.
    • A sediment cell has:
      • Sources: where the sediment originates from (e.g. cliffs, offshore bars).
      • Through flows: the movement of sediment along the shore through longshore drift.
      • Sinks: locations where deposition of sediment dominates (e.g. spits, beaches).
    • The coastal system operates in a state of dynamic equilibrium, where input and outputs of sediment are in a constant state of change but remain in balance.

    The Littoral Zone

    • The littoral zone is the area of the coast where land is subject to wave action.
    • The littoral zone is constantly changing and varies due to:
      • Short-term factors like tides and storm surges.
      • Long-term factors like changes in sea level and climate change.
    • There are several subzones within the littoral zone:
      • Backshore: area above high tide level and only affected by exceptionally high tides.
      • Foreshore: this is land where most wave processes occur.
      • Offshore: the open sea.

    Valentine’s Classification

    • Valentine’s Classification describes the range of coastlines that can occur.
    • An advancing coastline may be due to the land emerging or deposition being the prominent process.
    • Alternatively, a coastline may be retreating due to the land submerging or erosion becoming the prominent process.
    • Emergent or submergent coastlines may be due to post-glacial adjustment (the land ‘wobbles’ as the glacier above it melts, causing isostatic sea level change), as well as other causes.

    Coastal Processes and Land Formations - Erosional Processes

    • Erosion is a collaborative process which involves the removal of sediment from a coastline by different types of erosion, not one type acting by itself.
    • Corrosion (Solution): mildly acidic seawater can cause alkaline rock such as limestone to be eroded, similar to the process of carbonation weathering.
    • Wave Quarrying: breaking waves that hit the cliff face exert a pressure up to 30 tonnes per m².
    • Erosion rates are highest when:
      • Waves are high and have a long fetch.
      • Waves approach the coast perpendicular to the cliff.
      • At high tide, waves travel higher up the cliff.
      • Heavy rainfall occurs, water percolates through permeable rock, weakening cliff.
      • In winter, destructive waves are the largest and most destructive.
    • The main processes of erosion are:
      • Corrasion: sand and pebbles are picked up by the sea and hurled against the cliffs at high tide.
      • Abrasion: sediment is moved along the shoreline, causing it to be worn down over time.
      • Attrition: wave action causes rocks and pebbles to hit against each other, wearing each other down.
      • Hydraulic Action: as a wave crashes onto a rock or cliff face, air is forced into cracks, joints and faults within the rock, causing it to fracture.

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    Description

    Learn about the classification of coasts in Edexcel Geography A-level Coastal Landscapes and Change. Understand the concept of open and closed systems, as well as the inputs and outputs in coastal systems.

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