The role of climate, marine and sub-aerial processes in coastal erosion
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Lesson details
Learning outcome
I can explain the role climate, marine and sub-aerial processes play in coastal erosion.
Key learning points
- Climate (seasonality, storm frequency, prevailing winds) affects the rate of erosion along coastal landscapes.
- Marine processes (destructive waves) affect coastal landscapes and the rate of coastal retreat.
- Sub-aerial processes (mass movement, weathering) affect coastal landscapes and the rate of coastal retreat.
Keywords
Erosion - the wearing away of rocks along the coastline
Constructive wave - low-energy waves that result in the buildup of sediment along the coastline
Destructive wave - high-energy waves that result in the removal of sediment along the coastline
Weathering - the breaking down or dissolving of rocks through plants, animals and weather
Mass movement - downhill movement of sediment due to gravity
Common misconception
Swash is when a wave moves down the beach to the sea and backwash is when a wave moves up the beach from the sea.
The swash is the movement of the wave from the sea to the beach which brings sediment with it. Whereas the backwash is the movement of the wave from the beach to sea.
Teacher tip
GIS could be used in this lesson to overlay different data sets, such as historical maps, on current OS maps to explore rates of coastal erosion.
Licence
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