COASTS

The coast is a narrow contact zone

between land and sea. It is
constantly changing due to the
effects of land, air and marine
processes.
The power of the waves the sea
carries determines the type of
processes that take place.

Wave Energy
1. Waves are created when wind blows
over the surface of the sea creating
friction.
2. The size and energy of a wave varies
according to its speed and the
amount of time the wave has been
moving.
Waves are biggest and have the
most energy when the wind is
strong, has been blowing for a long
time and has come a long way.
The distance over which a wave has
travelled is called fetch.
3. Friction with the sea bed slows down
the bottom of the wave but the top
of the wave continues moving at the
same rate and topples forward,
braking against a cliff or beach.
Swash is water that washes up a
beach

The size of the wave depends on

The strength of the
wind.
How long the wind blows
for.
The length of the water
the wind blows over
called the fetch.
Extension: which waves
would be stronger? Why?
A: Caribbean UK
B: South America - Africa

Coasts lesson 2 - wave formation

Breaking waves
As waves approach
the shore, the
bottom of the wave
catches on the sea
bed causing the
wave to build up
(become taller).
The wave then
spills over (breaks)
ontoTsunamis
the beach.
Extension:
are a
type of wave but are not
caused by wind. Can you
suggest what causes them?

Notice how the wave is falling forward it

has built up and is breaking onto the shore.

LO1: I can describe how a wave

5
Coasts lesson 2 - wave formation

TYPES OF WAVE

There are two types of wave:

Constructive
Destructive

Constructive
This wave has
limited energy
most of this is used
by the swash to
transport material
up the beach.

Destructive
This wave has
much more energy.
Most of this is used
by the backwash to
transport material
back down the
beach.

Not all waves are the same. The beach

profile (shape of the beach) can be different
depending on how the waves break
Constructive
Build beaches.
Material is carried up
the beach in the
strong swash and is
Coasts lesson 2 - wave formation
deposited as the
backwash is weak
Summer.

Destructive
Destroy beaches. They
are very high and
frequent. The
backwash is strong
and transports beach
material out to sea
Winter.

Extension: add beach profile to

your glossary with an accurate
definition.
LO2: I can identify the differences between constructive and

Swash Vs Backwash
Swash movement of water
up the beach

Backwash movement of
water down the beach

Extension: How might seasons affect the

swash and backwash?
Happens when the wave breaks:
water rushes up the beach

Happens after the swash, when the

water is draining back into the sea.10

Coasts lesson 2 - wave formation

The Beach Profile

Coasts lesson 2 - wave formation

Constructive

Destructive

Extension: name examples of

places you might find constructive
and destructive beach profiles.
Gentle beaches are formed by
Steep beaches are formed by
constructive waves.
destructive waves.
11
LO3: I can explain how different waves can shape a variety

Which parts of the British Isles will

receive the biggest waves and why?
Think about the FETCH
(length of the water)

Coasts lesson 2 - wave formation

Extension: Which parts of

the British Isles will receive
the smallest waves and
why?

h
c
t
Fe
The Republic of Ireland, and South-West England (Cornwall) receive
the biggest waves as the fetch stretches across the Atlantic Ocean.
12

LO1: I can describe how a wave

Coastal Processes
There are three main processes at
work in the sea:
Erosion
Transportation
Deposition

Erosion
This is destructive waves wearing away the coastline. It happens
when the waves are packed with energy. Erosion destroys landforms.

Waves erode in four ways:

Hydraulic action- Is when waves crash against cliffs trapping and
compressing air and water in rock cracks. As the waves move back,
pressure is released causing the air and water to expand. This
explodes breaking off rock fragments.
Abrasion-Is when breaking waves pound rocks and pebbles against
the cliffs wearing the land away in a sandpaper effect.
Attrition-Is when waves smash rock fragments against each other
making pebbles smoother, rounder and smaller. In time, the particles
are ground into grit and sand.
Corrosion- Is when the chemicals in the sea water dissolve or rot
rocks like limestone and chalk

What is coastal erosion - YouTube.mp4

The waves FORCE

water into cracks in
the rocks.

This is called
HYDRAULIC
ACTION

Rough seas fling

pebbles against the
rocks
The pebbles
act like
sandpaper.
This is
called
ABRASION

The waves knock chunks of rock

together.
The rocks end
up as pebbles
on the beach

This is called
ATTRITION

The water DISSOLVES

soluble material from
the rocks.
This is called
SOLUTION

Waves force water

into cracks in the
rock, this pressure
breaks up the rock
- called hydraulic
action.

The waves throw

sand, pebbles and
large stones against
the rock. They wear
it away like sand
paper. This is called
abrasion.

Chunks of rock get

knocked together
and worn into
smaller pieces. This
is called attrition.

The water dissolves

the rock. This is
called solution.

2.Movie_-_Coastal_Kung_Fu.wmv

COPY THE DIAGRAM AND ADD THE CORRECT LABEL

FROM THE FOLLOWING:
Removal of stack to create a stump;
enlargement of cave to form an arch;
geological weakness (e.g fault);
formation of sea cave by erosion;
collapse of arch to form stump

Transportation
Is the movement of material in the sea and along the
coast by waves.
Transport along the coast is when waves move material
across a beach. This is long shore drift.
The prevailing wind causes the waves to break on the
beach at an angle
Swash carries the material up the beach at an angle.
Backwash drags the material back down the beach at right
angle.
Each wave pushes material further along the beach.
Material is moved along the beach in the direction of the
prevailing wind.

Transport Processes
Longshore Drift

Draw an annotated diagram to explain the process of longshore

drift.

Longshore drift
Direction of longshore drift
movement

Backwash is
always at right
angles to the
beach
swas
h
Backwas
h

Direction of
prevailing wind

Evidence for
LSD

Which way is LSD moving sediment?

What is a storm beach?

Deposition
Is the dumping of
eroded material on
the land by
constructive
waves. It happens
when the waves
have less energy.
Deposition creates
land forms such as
beach,spit, marsh
and dune belts.

Beach
A beach is a
landform along the
shoreline of an
ocean, sea, lake or
river. It usually
consists of loose
particles which are
often composed of
rock, such as sand,
gravel, shingle,
pebbles or
cobblestones

Spit
A spit is an
extended stretch of
beach material that
only joins the
mainland at one
end. They start to
form where there is
a change in the
direction of the
coastline.

Stages of spit
development:

Spits and salt marshes

Salt marsh
Salt marshes may
be formed behind a
spit. The zone
behind a spit
becomes a
sheltered area.
Water movement
slows down and so
more material is
deposited.
Deposition may
form a salt marsh.

A salt marsh forms when incoming tides carry and

deposit sediment across low-lying land, resulting in
wet mudflats. Saltwater grasses then slowly take
hold and spread, stabilising the land through the
growth of root systems. As the plants decay and
sediment builds up, peat deposits accumulate,
forming a rich habitat that supports the growth of

Salt Marshes

They often develop

in the lee (sheltered
part) of a spit.

Sand Dunes

The sand dunes

at Hengistbury
Head are in the
early stages of
formation

Sand Dune formation.

What you need is:

Factors which affect the speed that

the coastline is eroded:
1. Rock type
2. Wave type
3. If theres a beach
4. Human activity
(pollution/walking)
5. Vegetation

Task: List these

factors which affect
the speed of coastal
erosion. For each,
write one sentence
explaining how this
affects erosion
speed.

These are sea stacks. In groups of two write down a short

paragraph about how you think that they formed.

Coastal
Management

How do we protect the coast

To be able to explain how different types of coastal
defences work.
To be able to explain the advantages and the disadvantages
of all of the different methods of protection.

SEA WALL
Absorb wave energy
so the cliff foot is
protected from
erosion

RIP- RAP

Rip-rap: Rip-rap is basically giant

boulders placed at the foot (bottom) of
cliffs. Rip-rap is designed to absorb the
waves energy and protect the cliffs
behind. Rip-rap can be effective, but
does look ugly, may reduce access to
the beach and can be expensive.

Groyne
s

Wooden fences built out into the

sea. They stop long shore drift and
build up the beach. A wide beach
absorbs more wave energy

REVETMENT

They are similar to sea walls, but often built

out of wood. Often found at the foot of cliffs
they are designed to absorb the wave
energy. Again they need replacing regularly
and do not protect against big storms.

CLIFF
REGRADING

This means make cliffs less steep. Cliffs

often become unstable because of
undercutting. By reducing the angle you
should reduce the undercutting and the
risk of the cliff collapsing.

Beach
Drainage

Cliffs often collapse because they

become saturated and the
increased stress causes them to
collapse. By removing some of the
excess water you should reduce
stress on the cliff.

BEACH
FEEDING

Extra sediment is dumped

on the beach to increase its
size. A wider beach will
absorb more wave energy
and protect cliff

How can the coastline be protected?

Hard engineering techniques aim to stop coastal processes
from occurring. Soft engineering methods try to work with
nature to protect the coast.