Definitions

• Backshore is..


  The upper beach closest to the land, including any cliffs or sand dunes.
• Abrasion is...


  A form of erosion where loose material 'sandpapers' the walls and floors of the river, cliff or glacier.
• Beach morphology is...


  The surface shape of the beach.
• Coastal Recession is...


  The retreat of a coastline due to erosion, sea- level rise or submergence.
• Concordant Coast is...


  A coastline where bands of alternate geology run parallel to the coast.
• A Dalmatian Coast is:

  • A concordant coastline with several river valleys running perpendicular to the coast.
  • They become flooded to produce parallel long islands and long intels.
• DEFRA's 1:1 Cost-Benefit Analysis:

  The evaluation of a coastal town's economic value compared to the cost of the management required.
• A discordant coast is a coastline where bands of alternate geology run perpendicular to the shore.
• Dynamic Equilibrium:

  Refers to the attempt by a natural system to achieve a balance by making constant changes in response to a constantly changing system.

  Only reached when the rates on inputs and outputs of the systems are equal, despite these constant changes.
• Emergent Coast:

  • a coastline that is advancing relative to the sea level at the time
• Eustatic is..

  Global changes to sea levels.
• Foreshore is defined as...


  The lower part of the beach covered at least twice a day at high tide.

  It is the part of the beach receiving the most regular/ constant wave action.
• Freeze- thaw is a process that is a form of physical sub-aerial weathering where water freezes in the cracks of a rock, then expanding and enlarging the original crack (weakening the rock).
• Geology is:

  The structure and arrangement of a rock.
• Glacial Erosion:

  Refers to the removal of loose material by glacier ice- involving plucking, abrasion, crushing and basal meltwater.

  Necessary in the formation of Fjords.
• Grading is the layering of sediments based on their size.
• High- energy environment:

  A coast where wave action is predominantly large destructive waves, causing a great deal of erosion.
• Impermeable refers to...


  A characteristic of a rock that means rainwater does not pass through.
• Isostatic:

  A change in local coastline or land height relative to the sea level.
• Littoral Cell:

  A section of the coast- within which involves plenty of sediment movement.
• Permeable refers to...


  A characteristic of a rock that allows rainwater to pass through.
• Plant Succession:

  A process by which a series of different plant communities occupy an area over time.

  Can occur after events like forest fires.
• Sub-aerial Processes:

  Encapsulates the joint effects of mass movement and weathering on the coastal land above sea.
• Submergent coast is a coast that is sinking relative to the sea level of the time.
• Till:

  Deposits of angular rock fragments in a finer medium.