Coasts as natural systems: Practice Questions

• a.The physical grinding of rock fragments against a cliff face during storm conditions.
• b.The weight of a breaking wave exerting direct hydraulic pressure on a jointed rock surface.
• c.The collapse of air bubbles trapped in water under high pressure, sending tiny shockwaves into the rock face.
• d.The chemical dissolution of calcium carbonate in sedimentary rocks by seawater.

• a.Subaerial weathering and marine erosion widening a series of master joints in limestone cliffs.
• b.Tectonic uplift creating a series of fault-bounded inlets along a concordant coast.
• c.Isostatic rebound causing the emergence of a glaciated U-shaped valley.
• d.Eustatic sea-level rise drowning a pre-existing river valley system.

• a.Human construction of a groin trapping sediment and causing accelerated erosion further downdrift.
• b.Rising sea levels causing beach erosion, which reduces the beach's ability to dissipate wave energy, leading to further erosion.
• c.Increased cliff erosion providing more debris at the base, which eventually protects the cliff from further wave attack.
• d.A storm removing sand from a dune system, making the inland area more vulnerable to subsequent flooding events.

• a.A net deficit leading to beach erosion and shoreline retreat.
• b.The formation of a tombolo due to accelerated sediment deposition.
• c.The system achieving dynamic equilibrium with no net change in morphology.
• d.A net surplus leading to the progradation of the beach.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.

Write your answer out first, then check it against the worked solution.