MORE KEY TERMS

• hydraulic action = is the force of water crashing against the coastline causing material to be dislodged and be carried away by the sea.
• solution = when sea water dissolves certain types of rocks e.g. in UK chalk and limestone prone to this type of erosion
• attrition = when rocks that the river is carrying knock against each other. They break apart to become smaller and more rounded.
• abrasion = when pebbles grind along a rock platform, much like sandpaper. Over time the rock becomes smooth.
• transportation = when rivers carry material as it flows
• traction = method of transportation for large stones or boulders in a river
• saltation = bouncing of sand grains as they are picked up, carried along, and dropped repeatedly by flowing water
• suspension = lighter sediment is carried within the water, most commonly near the mouth of the river.
• deposition = When the river loses energy, it drops any of the material it has been carrying. 
• weathering = the wearing down or breaking of rocks while they are in place
• chemical weathering = process of chemicals in rainwater making changes to the minerals in a rock
• mechanical weathering = when rocks are broken down by physical factors in the environment, such as wind, water, and temperature change
• biological weathering = the breakdown of rocks by living organisms e.g. a rabbit can burrow into a crack in a rock making it bigger and eventually splitting the rock