Weathering & Mass Movement
The breakdown of rock in situ without movement.
What is weathering?
Waves with strong backwash and weak swash.
What are destructive waves?
The zigzag movement of sediment along the coast.
What is longshore drift?
The sideways erosion of a river channel.
What is lateral erosion?
A sudden movement of rock or soil down a slope.
What is a landslide?
Weathering caused by repeated freezing and thawing of water in cracks.
What is freeze–thaw weathering?
Waves that build up beaches due to strong swash.
What are constructive waves?
Erosion by waves compressing air into cracks in rocks.
What is hydraulic action?
The downward wearing away of a river bed, making the channel deeper.
What is vertical erosion?
A large sea wave triggered by seismic activity.
What is a tsunami?
The downslope movement of rock and soil under gravity.
What is mass movement?
The forward movement of water up the beach after a wave breaks.
What is swash?
The process where sediment is dissolved and carried in water.
What is solution?
The transport of sediment by bouncing along the river bed.
What is saltation?
The process where cliffs collapse due to undercutting by waves.
What is cliff retreat?
A rapid movement of saturated soil flowing downhill, often after heavy rain.
What is a mudflow?
The factor that determines wave energy based on wind strength, duration, and distance travelled.
What is fetch?
A coastal defense that interrupts longshore drift, causing sediment buildup on one side and erosion on the other.
What is a groyne?
A meander cutoff that forms an isolated water body.
What is an oxbow lake?
A protective structure built to absorb wave energy and reduce erosion.
What is a sea wall?
The type of weathering where minerals in rock react chemically with water, weakening the rock (common in limestone areas).
What is chemical weathering?
A high-energy wave event caused by underwater earthquakes or volcanic eruptions.
What is a tsunami?
This process causes wave energy to concentrate on headlands, leading to increased erosion there while bays experience deposition.
What is wave refraction?
The stage of a river where deposition dominates and floodplains form.
What is the lower course?
The combination of high tide and storm conditions leading to coastal flooding.
What is a storm surge?