Coast Factors affecting the size of a wave

Why are coasts important? Crest

Why are coasts under threat? Trough

Wave Wavelength

Wave formation Wave Height

1a
 Duration of wind
Strength of wind The border between land and sea.
Fetch (the distance travelled by a wave)

Tourism
Sport
Ecosystem
Fishing
Top of a wave. Oil / gas reserves
Housing
Industry
Transport
Walkers

Rising sea levels

Pollution
Litter
Bottom of a wave. Overfishing
Erosion
Tropical storms
Privatisation increases cost

Oscillations in water formed by the

Distance between two crests / troughs.
friction between the wind and the sea.

Distance between crest and trough. ...

1b
Wave Frequency Breaking wave

Velocity Destructive Waves

Swash Constructive Waves

Backwash What is erosion in coast?

Wave Refraction What is weathering?

2a
 -bottom of wave slowed by friction
-top of wave still travelling at speed Waves per second
-top wave crashes

What: erodes beach

How:
-greater backwash than swash The speed that a wave is travelling at,
-backwash not soak in, water removes
influenced by wind, fetch and depth of
sediment
When: winter/low pressure
water.
Look: high amplitude, short wavelength,
frequent

What: builds beach

How:
-greater swash than backwash
-backwash soaks in, sediment deposited Water washed up beach
When: summer/high pressure
Look: low amplitude, long wavelength,
less frequent

cliff-foot process (attack foot of cliff) Water drawn down beach

As the wave reaches shallower water, the friction

Break down of rocks in situ
with the sea bed increases and thus the wave
slows down.
If there is a headland, the waves slow down
where the water is shallower, but continue to
travel to the bay where water is deeper. As a
result, the wave disperses its energy differently
and contributes to the forming of a headland.
2b
Types of weathering Sub-aerial Weathering

Hydraulic Action Traction

Corrosion (Solution) Saltation

Abrasion (Corrasion) Suspension

Attrition Solution

3a

Top of cliffs being attacked by the
weather (wind, rain, heat, cold etc.),
weakening it.
large sediment rolled on bed
small sediment bounces
fine sediment carried in current
soluble load dissolved in water
Biological: living organism (plant roots
weaken)
Chemical: acid/chemicals (acid
rain/salination)
Physical: atmosphere (sub-aerial)
Freeze-thaw: ice expands in crack and
thaws in day
sheer force of water breaks down rock
soluble acidic sediment breaks down
rock
sediment hitting cliff causing erosion
sediment hitting each other making it
erode
3b
 Bay formation Cave/Arch/Stack/Stump formation

Headland Cave/Arch/Stack/Stump

Cliff Longshore Drift

Wave-cut platform formation How does longshore drift work?

Wave-cut platform Prevailing Wind

4a
-crack weakness in rock grows with erosion
-crack expanded to form cave
-cave eroded through headland to form arch
(cliff foot process/hydraulic action)
-rock above arch collapses (under gravity) to
form stack
-stack eroded (by subaerial) to stump
movement of sediment in direction of
the prevailing wind at 90 degrees along
the coastline
-swash brings sediment at angle
(prevailing wind direction)
-backwash takes sediment back at 90
degrees
Direction a wind normally hits a
coastline.
-discordant coastline
-soft rock erodes faster than hard rock
-hard rock sticks out=headland
-deposition where sheltered erosion=bay
A piece of land that sticks out into the
sea that also causes waves to refract,
forming additional features such as
arches and stacks.
steep vertical rock outcrop
-hydraulic action and abrasion (from sea)
-wave-cut notch undercuts cliff
-notch increases and overhang collapses
-subaerial weathering weakens cliff
-cliff retreats
-eroded material taken
-wave-cut platform where cliff used to be
4b
 Saltation Spit

Tide Spit formation

Intertidal Zone Spit formation

Spring Tide Salt Marsh

Neap Tide Tombolo

5a
 When small particles (e.g. rocks) are
Long, thin stretch of sand connected to
bounced along the beach due to
mainland but stretching out into the sea.
transportation.

-longshore drift transports sediment

-change in coastline and deposition
continues Movement of the sea in and out, twice a
-beach extends from coast day, caused by the gravitational pull of
-recurved end from wind the moon.
-spit separates sea and river and salt
marsh develops

Area of land between high tide and low

tide.

A low energy, intertidal ecosystem that

forms behind a spit containing some
salt-resistant vegetation (halophytes).
Highest high tides, lowest low tides

-spit that joins the mainland with an

island

Lowest high tides, highest low tides

5b
 Bar formation Embryo Dune

Bar formation Foredune

Beach Formation Yellow Dune

Sand Dune formation Grey Dune

Sand dune cross-section Mature Dune

6a
Starting dunes of sand dunes, formed in
-spit extends across estury/bay
the sheltered are between the berm
-water behind becomes lagoon
and strand line.

Small embryo dunes join together.

Bays are sheltered ;

Small amounts of vegetation (e.g. sea Refraction of waves may occur;
couch and marram grass) begins to Shallow water (friction caused by);
grow on foredunes. Constructive waves/low energy waves;
Deposition occurs/sediment builds up;

-wind/constructive wave deposits

A developing humus layer starts to
sediment
change the colour of the dune from
-vegetation traps sediment
yellow to grey.
-sediment accumulates

As the humus layer continues to grow,

the dune can now support more
vegetation, including flowers and trees.

6b
 Dune Slack Examples of Hard Engineering

Humus Sea wall

Water Table Gabion

Management of coastal erosion Groyne

Hard Engineering Breakwater

7a
 Rip-rap
Gabion
As the size of the dunes develop, water
Groyne
is collected between the dunes where
Sea wall
marsh vegetation can grow.
Breakwater
Revetment

Strengthen cliffs/deflect waves (curved)

Adv:
protect cliff base/buildings Layer of decaying plant or animal
can also prevent flooding matter that adds nutrients to the
Dis Adv: ground.
expensive
high maintanence

Rocks in mesh
Stabilise cliff/absorb wave energy
Adv:
Cheap Line between saturated and unsaturated
Absorb wave energy ground.
Dis Adv:
Short life
Unattractive

wooden barriers at 90 degrees

prevent removal of beach material/trap beach material;
prevent longshore drift;
Adv: It/they reduce the power of the waves;
Builds beach/trap sediment
Absorb wave energy Absorb wave energy;
Dis Adv: Prevent erosion
Costly
High maintenance
Other areas suffer (not deposited on)

This building a physical structure,

usually out of wood or concrete to
Adv: protect the coast. This is usually more
effective, but it can be very expensive
and unsightly.

7b
 Revetment Managed retreat

Rip Rap (Rock Armour) Dune Stabilisation

Soft Engineering Cost-Benefit Analysis

Examples of Soft Engineering Coral Reef

Beach nourishment Conditions for a coral reef

8a
Areas of coast allowed to erode/flood
Adv: waves to break/stop waves breaking on
Cheap beach
Encourage natural coastal landforms erosion on revetment rather than on
Dis Adv: cliff
Coast retreats Adv:
Loss of land

Marram grass to stabilise dunes

Piles of boulders
Adv:
Adv:
Cheap
Absorb wave energy
Natural look
Cheap
Dis Adv:
Dis Adv:
Zoned off for protection
Short life
Easily damaged by waves

It is not possible to protect the entire coastline of

every country. Therefore, cost-benefit analysis is
often carried out to see if the coast is worth
protecting. The economic benefit of a coast will be Working with nature to reduce the
looked at (e.g. how many jobs are in the area, how impacts of coastal erosion slightly.
much tax the area pays, the value of the buildings in
the area) and then the cost of protecting the area
(e.g. how much a sea wall or rip-rap will cost).

Dune stabilisation
A line of limestone coral polyp found in
Beach nourishment
warm, shallow areas.
Managed retreat

-warm 20-30 degrees Replace sediment

-shallow water Adv:
-weak current Natural defence
-good sun exposure Tourist attraction
-clear/not polluted/clean Cheap
-low pH (8) Dis Adv:
-low salinity Frequent replacement
-oxygen/plankton Transport sand from elsewhere
8b
 Fringing Reef Conditions for a mangrove

Barrier Reef Features of a mangrove

Atoll Mangrove benefits

How coral reefs are being damaged Alternative Names for Tropical Storms

Mangrove Formation of a tropical storm

9a
-between high and low water mark
-large tidal range
-salty water
Attached to land
-20 degrees/little variation
-calm/no strong current
-tropical

-muddy
-trees (halophytes/evergreen)
-aerial roots(take in oxygen at low tide)
Large reefs
-salt filtering roots
Separated from land
-salt excreting leaves
-shallow
-diverse number of species (crocodile)

Protect coastline Reefs around sinking islands

Natural erosion/flood defence Enclose lagoon

Rising sea levels

Warming sea (coral bleaching)
Hurricane (North America) Tropical storm
Typhoon (East Asia and Pacific) Pollution
Cyclone (South Asia) Deforestation
Overfishing
Tourism

-warm waters
-low pressure
-27 degrees
-60m deep water Areas of vegetation along sheltered
-warm moist air rises coastline
-corolis spirals
-cumulonimbus (eye wall)
-central cool sinking air (calm dry eye)
9b
 Landfall Dissipation

Eye Saffir-Simpson Scale

Eye wall Problems of a Tropical Storm

Storm surge

Formation

10a
 When tropical storms breaks up and
When a tropical storm hits land.
loses all its strength.

The centre of a tropical storm. No

clouds. Cool air sinking and warming.

Category 1 (lowest) to Category 5 (highest)

-flooding;
-destruction of infrastructure
-contamination of water supplies;
-farming ruined
-possessions destroyed Cumulonimbus clouds. Strong wind and
-displacement/evacuation/death/injury rain.
-habitat destruction
-reef damage
-transport links damaged
-coastal erosion

A dome of water that sweeps across the

coast where a hurricane lands

When an area of low pressure turns into

a tropical storm.

10b