Waves Waves are caused by friction that is generated when wind

blows across the surface of the sea!

Headlands and Bays Discordant Coastline:
Bands of differing rock
CAVES, ARCHES AND STACKS LONGSHORE DRIFT
strengths (resistant and Headland Waves approach the beach at
As a wave reaches the beach:
less resistant) run an angle equal to the prevailing
The water running up the beach is called the swash. As the wave loses Caves, arches and stacks
perpendicular (in the wind. Material is moved up the
energy, the water begins to run back down the beach to the sea, and is often form at headlands,
opposite direction) to the beach at an angle (swash),
called the backwash. If you’ve ever been to the beach, you will have felt this should make sure you
coastline. Along this returning perpendicular to the
motion under your feet when paddling in the shallow waters! remember how headlands
coastline, a mixture of clay coast.
initially form!
Two types of waves! (less resistant), chalk and
limestone (resistant) run LANDFORMS CREATED BY DEPOSITION
perpendicular to the Cave
Destructive Waves: Strong winds,
powerful waves and cause coastal erosion. coastline. Destructive waves break Beaches
They are tall and steep. The backwash is against the cliff face,
stronger than the swash, so material is LANDFORMS CREATED BY EROSION Formed when eroded material is transported
weaknesses in the rock are
carried out to sea. by longshore drift and deposited by
attacked. Through hydraulic
constructive waves. Sandy beaches are found
Headland action, the crack widens,
in sheltered bays (bay head beaches), and
Constructive Waves: Light winds, not eventually widening the crack
Along a discordant coastline, the rocks have shallow gradients
powerful and cause deposition, rather enough to form a cave.
of higher resistance erode at a slower
than erosion. Stronger swash, so material rate to the rock of lower resistance. As a
is carried up the beach and deposited. result, the high resistant rocks protrude Arch
out from the coastline, producing Waves erode the cave, via the
headlands. process of hydraulic action,
Erosion Erosion is a term used to describe a wave and abrasion, with rocks and
removing material from the coastline Bays pebbles swirling within the
cave. If the cave sits in a Pebble beaches are found in areas where cliffs have been eroded by
Attrition Along a discordant coastline, the rocks
narrow headland, waves high energy waves, and have a steep gradient.
of lower resistance erode at a faster rate
erode through the cave,
Small rocks that the waves are carrying, than the rocks of higher resistance. This Spit
creating an arch.
collide in to one another. The rocks break results in the rock eroding back more
up, becoming smaller and rounder. This quickly to produce bays. Constructive Stack A spit is a narrow ridge of sand or shingle, that stretches out from the
continues to occur until the rock becomes ways often bring sediment to form a coastline, into a gap in the coastline. A spit forms due to longshore
sand. beach. Continued erosion of the base drift. Sediment moves along the coastline until a change in coastline
of the arch weakens the occurs. This results in material being deposited. This builds up overtime
Abrasion Cliffs structure, until a point where until the spit extends out further into the gap. Saltmarshes begin to
the roof collapses due to form being the spit due to it being enclosed. A spit may begin to curve
Rocks that the wave is carrying are Cliffs are produced through the process of hydraulic action and instability, leaving a stack, due to wind and waves from other directions.
thrown against the coastline. This wears abrasion, where destructive waves erode the cliff between the high and separated from the mainland,
away at the coastline overtime. low tide marks to create a wave cut notch. As this notch is eroded, the as shown above and to the
cliff above becomes unstable, collapses and is removed by waves. right.

Hydraulic Action Wave Cut Platform

Large waves break against the cliff. The cliff Below the wave cut notch, an
will often have faults/cracks in. The water area of exposed rock is left,
is forced into these faults/cracks in the cliff, which is visible during low
which causes immense pressure. When this tide. The surface is not Bar
pressure is released, it produces a force smooth, as erosional
that makes the crack larger. processes such as abrasion, A bar is a ridge of sand or material that
and weathering, continue to extends across a bay or river mouth, creating
Solution erode the rock face. an enclosed water body. A bar forms through
the same process as longshore drift. Behind
Sea water has lots of different chemicals in, the bar, fresh or slightly salty water becomes
and these can sometimes react with the contained to form a lagoon. In the image to
rock, causing the rock to dissolve. This the right, a bar extends across the river
occurs most frequently with limestone. mouth, with a lagoon behind.
 Longshore
How do humans Drift
affect the coastline? Planners must try to find sustainable ways of managing the What Do Coral Reefs Need to Survive?
coastline, and do this using a process called Integrated Coastal Sunlight: Corals need to grow in shallow water where sunlight can
Over 20 million people in the UK live near to Zone Management (ICZM). This involves Shoreline reach them. Corals depend on the zooxanthellae (algae) that grow
Settlement the coast. Along the Holderness coast, 29 Management Plans (SMPs) being drawn up, which recommend inside of them for oxygen and other things, and since these algae
villages have been lost due to coastal erosion. to do one of the following things: needs sunlight to survive, corals also need sunlight to survive.
Corals rarely develop in water deeper than 165 feet (50 meters).
Coastal tourism is BIG business! 13% of jobs at
Clear water: Corals need clear water that lets sunlight through;
Dawlish are in tourism. Coasts are often
Tourism No Intervention No investment in flood defences. they don’t thrive well when the water is opaque. Sediment and
managed for tourists, such as building groynes
plankton can cloud water, which decreases the amount of sunlight
to trap sediment for beaches.
that reaches the zooxanthellae.
Roads, railways, shipping ports and oil Warm water temperature: Reef-building corals require warm water
refineries are just some of the infrastructure Maintain the existing coastline with conditions to survive. Different corals living in different regions can
Hold The Line
found at the coast. The Esso oil refinery at defences. withstand various temperature fluctuations. However, corals
Infrastructure generally live in water temperatures of 68–90° F or 20–32° C.
Southampton sees 2000 ships dock each year.
Hard engineering features are often built to Clean water: Corals are sensitive to pollution and sediments.
harness infrastructure. Sediment can create cloudy water and be deposited on corals,
blocking out the sun and harming the polyps. Wastewater
Dredging the sea to construct ports can have Managed Allow the shoreline to change naturally, discharged into the ocean near the reef can contain too many
adverse effects to wildlife. It can also impact Realignment but manage this process and the impacts. nutrients that cause seaweeds to overgrow the reef.
Construction
areas further down the coastline, due to Saltwater: Corals need saltwater to survive and require a certain
Erosion altering the sediment budget and cell. balance in the ratio of salt to water. This is why corals don’t live in
areas where rivers drain fresh water into the ocean (“estuaries”).
Sea level rise and increased coastal erosion
will impact farmland due to it being of a low Advance The
Agriculture Build new defences on the seaward side.
economic value, and therefore low priority in Line
management.

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