Paper 3 Advanced Physical Geography Options

8.1 Coastal processes

Backwash is the movement of water back down the
Key terms beach due to the effect of gravity.
Upper beach or backshore is the part of the beach Constructive waves are waves with a long wavelength
furthest from the shore. It is often backed by cliffs or and a low height. They help to build up beaches by
sand dunes. deposition.
Foreshore is the part of the beach closest to the shore. Destructive waves are waves with a short wavelength
It is periodically exposed at low tide. and a high height. They help to erode beach materials
Offshore is the part of the seabed that is covered by and cliffs.
sea water. Low spring tides are very low tides that occur just
Wave orbit is the shape of the wave – either circular or after a new Moon.
elliptical. High spring tides are very high tides that occur just
Wave base is the point at which there is no movement after a full Moon.
in the sea due to wind energy. Neap tides occur when the Sun and the Moon are
Wave energy is the force of the wave that is controlled aligned at right-angles to the Earth.
by wind speed, fetch and the depth of the sea. Bay is a wide, open curving indentation of the sea.
Fetch is the distance of open water over which wind Tidal range is the difference in metres between high
can blow to create waves. The greater the fetch the spring tide and low spring tide.
more potential power waves have when they hit the Amphidromic point is the point in an ocean basin
coast. In the south and west of England, the fetch can where there is no tidal range.
stretch for over 5000 km, to South America.
Tidal bore is a wave that is caused by a spring high
Swell waves are waves formed in the open sea tide.
and capable of reaching 12–15 m and reaching
Microtidal is a low tidal range of less than 2 m.
distant shorelines. They are characterised by a long
wavelength and a relatively low height. Mesotidal is an intermediate tidal range of 2–4 m.

Storm waves are waves with a short wavelength and a Macrotidal is a high tidal range of over 4 m.
relatively high wave height. Wave refraction is the way in which a wave changes
Waves of translation are waves that reach the shape and loses speed as it comes into contact with
shoreline. Their energy is transferred (translated) to the seabed. If refraction is complete, waves break
the seabed/beach. parallel to the coastline. If refraction is not complete,
longshore drift occurs.
Wave shoaling describes the action of waves coming
in contact with the seabed, and as their wavelength is Longshore drift is the movement of material along
reduced their wave height is increased. a beach. When a wave breaks obliquely (at an angle
to the beach), pebbles are carried up the beach in the
Breaker is a wave that changes from its circular/
direction of the wave (swash). The wave returns to the
elliptical movement in open water to one that ‘breaks’
sea (backwash) at right-angles to the beach (direction
in the sea/on the beach.
of the steepest slope), carrying material with it. In this
Breaking waves are waves that have stopped their way, material moves along a beach. Longshore drift
circular/elliptical movement in the open water and may erode beaches and is involved in the formation of
are now transferring their energy onto the shoreline. spits and bars. Attempts to halt longshore drift include
Spilling breakers are steep waves that move onto the erection of barriers known as groynes.
beaches with a gentle gradient. The wave gradually Headland is a point of land projecting into the sea,
peaks and then decreases (spills) onto the beach. also known as a cape or a promontory.
Plunging breakers are waves that break on a beach Prevailing wind is the direction from which the wind
with an intermediate steepness. most commonly blows in a region. In the British Isles,
Surging breakers are relatively flat waves breaking on for example, the prevailing wind is south-westerly,
a steep beach. blowing from the Atlantic Ocean and bringing moist
Swash is the movement of material up the beach in and mild conditions.
the direction of the prevailing wind.

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Cambridge International AS and A Level Geography second edition Teacher’s CD © Garrett Nagle and Paul Guinness 2016
Erosion is the wearing away of the Earth’s surface by Wash loads are very fine loads, especially clays, that
a moving agent, such as a river, glacier or the sea. In a are permanently in suspension.
river, there are several processes of erosion including Littoral cell system is a coastal sediment system
hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition and solution. In consisting of inputs, processes and results.
coastal areas, hydraulic action is the most potent form
Dynamic equilibrium is the balance of all the factors
of erosion.
affecting the coastal system. If there is a change to
Hydraulic action is the erosive force exerted by water. one factor, the system will respond and there will be
It is particularly effective on jointed rocks, especially consequent changes, e.g. the construction of groynes
during storm conditions. on the shoreline will lead to an interruption of
Cavitation is caused by the explosive force of air longshore drift and a change in beach profiles.
trapped in jointed rock that is pressurised as water Sea level describes the average level of the sea,
enters into the joint. between high water mark and low water mark.
Wave pounding is another term for hydraulic action. Coastal protection is attempts by people to reduce
Corrasion is a type of erosion in which rock fragments coastal erosion and the retreat of coastal landforms.
carried by waves grind away a surface such as a cliff
face.
Abrasion is the rolling of water over a surface.
Topic summary
Attrition is the process by which particles of rock ● Coasts are very varied landscapes. A number of
being transported by the sea are rounded and become factors control coastal evolution.
smaller in size due to hitting one another. Particles ● Wave generation and characteristics include:
near the shoreline become smaller and more rounded • fetch
due to more frequent attrition. • energy
• refraction
Solution is the process by which the minerals in a
• breaking waves
rock, notably calcium ions, are dissolved in acid water.
• high- and low-energy waves
It may also be referred to as corrosion.
• swash
Platform is a low-angle, gently sloping area of bare • backwash.
rock, up to 100 m wide, formed by wave erosion or ● Waves result from friction between the wind and
weathering. It is also known as a wave-cut platform or the sea surface.
shore platform. ● Constructive waves tend to occur when wave
Salt weathering is a type of mechanical weathering frequency is low, particularly when these waves
in which salt crystals expand and contract with advance over a gently shelving sea floor.
temperature cycles of about 26 °C. ● Destructive waves are the result of locally generated
Freeze–thaw weathering is a type of mechanical winds, which create waves of high frequency.
weathering in which ice crystals expand and contract ● Waves are dominant in some coastal environments,
with temperature cycles of 0 °C. whereas in others the tide or wind is the dominant
factor.
Biological weathering is a type of mechanical and
● Tides are regular movements in the sea’s surface,
chemical weathering in which organisms secrete
caused by the gravitational pull of the Moon and
organic acids and break down rocks through the
Sun on the oceans.
growth of their roots.
● The change in speed and distortion of the wave
Solution weathering is a type of chemical weathering fronts is called wave refraction.
in which calcium carbonate, found in chalk and ● Waves perform a number of complex and
limestone, is dissolved in acidic water. interacting processes of erosion.
Slaking is a type of weathering in which materials ● The main forms of erosion are:
disintegrate when exposed to water. This can occur in • hydraulic action
hydration cycles of wetting and drying associated with • abrasion
high and low tides. • attrition
Mass movements are large-scale movements of the • solution.
Earth’s surface that are not accompanied by a moving ● Sub-aerial, or cliff-face processes, include
agent such as a river, glacier or ocean wave. weathering and mass movements.
● Sediment transport is generally categorised into two
Bedload is sediment carried on the seabed.
modes:
Traction is a form of transport in which large • bed load
sediments are dragged over the seabed. • suspended load.
Saltation is a form of transport in which intermediate- ● Marine transportation and deposition involves
sized sediments are bounced along the seabed. sediment sources and their characteristics,
Suspended load is the fine sediment that is carried by sediment cells and longshore drift.
the sea and held up above the seabed.

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Cambridge International AS and A Level Geography second edition Teacher’s CD © Garrett Nagle and Paul Guinness 2016
● The coastal sediment system, or littoral cell
system, is a simplified model in which each cell is
Suggested websites
self-contained, and where inputs and outputs are
● For a very detailed site on wave theory (there are
balanced.
some interesting graphs here):
www.seafriends.org.nz/oceano/waves.htm
Additional work ● For an animation of coastal erosion:
www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00xq8jc
● For littoral cells in California:
1 Outline the main characteristics of constructive and
http://coastalchange.ucsd.edu/st3_basics/
destructive waves.
littoralcell.html
2 Comment on the factors that lead to increased rates
● For NOAA on tides and water levels:
of marine erosion.
http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/education/tutorial_
3 Briefly explain the processes of a longshore drift and
tides/tides07_cycles.html
b wave refraction.
● For National Tidal and Sea Level Facility:
4 What is a sediment cell? How is an understanding
www.ntslf.org/about-tides/tides-faq
of sediment cells useful in coastal studies?
● For a West Africa coastal and marine environments
case study:
www.eoearth.org/article/Western_Africa_and_
coastal_and_marine_environments

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Cambridge International AS and A Level Geography second edition Teacher’s CD © Garrett Nagle and Paul Guinness 2016