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Coasts -Notesdocx (1)

info about coast

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Shaista
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© © All Rights Reserved
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UNIT – 4 COASTS (NOTES)

BC -7(2023-2024)

TERM-2

Q1. How are waves caused? What factors determine the energy of a wave?

Waves are created by wind blowing over the surface of the sea.

The size of a wave depends on:

 Length of time the wind has been blowing


 Strength of the wind
 'Fetch' - how far the wind has travelled.

Q2. Explain the difference between constructive and destructive waves.

Constructive waves Destructive waves


 Constructive waves have strong  Destructive waves have a weak
swash and weak backwash. swash and strong backwash.
 Some of the sediment carried in the  Very little sediment is carried up the
wave will be left behind to build up beach.
the beach.  With a strong backwash, the
 This means that the beach increases material will be removed and the
in size. beach will decrease in size.
.

Q3. What is meant by the term ‘’fetch’’ when applied to waves?

 The length of water the wind blows over the water is called its fetch.
 Fetch length, speed of the wind (wind strength), and duration determine the size
(sea state) of waves produced.
 If the wind direction is constant, the longer the fetch and the greater the wind
speed, the more wind energy is transferred to the water surface.

Q4. Explain the terms

a) Swash b) Uprush c) Backwash


a) The process of the waves coming in at the shore and breaking giving turbulent water
is called swash.
b) The water rushing up the sand at the beach is called uprush.
c) The water rolling back into the sea is called the backwash.
Q5. What are tides, and what causes them?

 Tides are the regular rise and fall of sea levels.


 The gravitational pull of the Moon and Sun causes the tides.
 There are two high tides and two low tides each day.

Q6. What are the key processes of the coastal zone?

Three key processes take place in the coastal zone:

 Erosion - Erosion is the wearing away of the land by forces such as water, wind, and
ice.
 Transportation - the movement of eroded material up and down, and along the
coast.
 Deposition - when the sea loses energy, it drops the sand, rock particles, and
pebbles that it has been carrying, depositing them.

Q7. Explain how caves, arches, and stacks are formed.

 A crack or rock weakness in a headland can be eroded when wave energy is usually
strong. This forms one or more caves.
 The pressure of air, compressed in the caves by the waves weakens the roof along a
major joint and the rock collapses to form a blow hole.
 Further erosion enlarges the cave and it breaks through the headland forming an
arch.
 The roof of this arch is often unstable and eventually collapses leaving a stack or
series of stacks.

Q8. Explain the factors that affect the erosion of the coastline.

 Rock type - chalks and limestone can form cliffs, whereas clays and softer rock form
large bays.
 Rock structure – different rock structures will erode at different rates.
 The shape of the coastline - headlands of a coastline are exposed to the full force of
destructive waves.
 The type of wave - the amount of energy a wave has helps determine the rate of
erosion.

Q9. The sea erodes the coasts in many ways. Explain.

The coastline is constantly eroding. There are four key types of erosion:

 Abrasion – Erosion caused by sediment and rocks in the seawater being hurled
against the cliff faces.
 Hydraulic action – erosion caused by water trapping air in pore spaces, faults, and
crevices, compressing the air which exerts pressure on the rock causing it to break
off.
 Attrition - waves cause the rocks to crash against each other, breaking them down
into smaller and rounder pieces.
 Corrosion (also known as solution) - salts and acids in seawater dissolve the rock
gradually over thousands of years.

Q10. How does a headland and bay coastline form?

 Headlands are formed when the sea attacks a section of the coast with alternating
bands of hard and soft rock. This leaves a section of land cutting out into the sea
called a headland.
 The areas where the soft rock has eroded, next to the headland, are called bays.

Q11. Explain the coastal landforms formed from deposition.

a) Beaches

 Beaches are natural landforms typically found along the shorelines of oceans, seas,
lakes, or rivers.
 They are characterized by the accumulation of loose particles such as sand, pebbles,
rocks, or shells, which are deposited by the action of water, primarily waves and
currents.
 Beaches can vary greatly in size, shape, and composition, depending on their
location and the geological characteristics of the area.

b) Spits

 It forms on a shallow shore at a point where there is a change in the angle of the
coastline.
 Sand or shingle is deposited by longshore drift / oblique waves
 Deposition continues and materials accumulate in seawards
 With time, an elongated feature with one end attached to the mainland projects into
the sea, and it is called a split.

Q12. Discuss the different ways in which coasts are useful to us.

Coasts are important for many different reasons and different groups of people. They
provide:

 Places to live
 Places to work, eg fishing, ports, and power stations
 Places to relax - leisure and tourism industries
 Wildlife habitats
 Beautiful scenery
 Educational value, eg geology and natural history.

Q13. People who live on the coast are at risk from the sea. How can we stop places being
flooded and eroded by the sea?

There are various ways to protect the sea from the waves. Some of them are: -

 Sea walls- are the usual way to keep the sea out They are often curved, to reflect the
waves away.
 Rock armour- it soaks up the waves' energy. So, it slows the erosion of cliffs and sea
walls.
 An artificial reef- made of rock and can be built out at sea, so that the waves break
earlier, away from the beach.
 Revetments- are like fences, the waves batter them instead of cliffs.
 Groynes- stop sand from being carried away, sand absorbs some of the wave's
energy.
 Beach nourishment- adding more sand or shingle to a beach.

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