Note: there will be 3 sections to this summer’s exam:
1 Coasts:
Waves, coastal erosion processes and landforms, coastal
deposition process and landforms, coastal management
2 Extreme Polar Seasons, ice sheets and sea ice, geography of Antarctica,
Environments: Antarctic Treaty and the impact of global warming
Antarctica
3 Settlement:
Studied between Easter and the exam
1. Coasts:
The coast is a narrow zone where the land and the sea overlap and affect each
other. It is the most varied and rapidly changing of all landforms and ecosystems
a) Waves and Tides
Waves are caused by the wind dragging on the surface of the water.
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the
gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun + rotation of the Earth.
I.
What factors affect the size and strength of the waves?
Wave size is determined by the amount of energy passed from the
wind to the water. 3 factors influence the energy in the wind:
SPEED + TIME BLOWING FOR + DISTANCE TRAVELLED (fetch)
II.
How are waves formed?
i.
ii.
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vi.
Wind blows over the surface of the sea - creates friction
Friction causes water particles to rotate and energy is
transferred forward – a wave
As a wave reaches shallow water, friction between the sea
bed and wave base causes the wave to slow down
The top of the wave, becomes steeper until it breaks.
When the wave breaks, water washes up the beach, this is
called the swash.
The movement of water back down the beach is called the
backwash
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III.
What are destructive and constructive waves?
Destructive waves:
Higher energy
Larger in height
Cause? strong winds + large fetch
Weak swash but strong backwash
Backwash erodes the beach by
pulling sand and shingle down the
beach as water returns to the sea
 Forms a narrow steeper beach
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Constructive waves:
Low energy waves
Smaller in height
Strong swash with weak backwash
Tend to deposit material and build
up a beach
 Forms wide, gently sloping beaches
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b) Coastal erosion processes and landforms
i. Types of erosion (think hand movements or remember C A S H!)
Corrasion: Waves throw particles against
the cliff rock wearing it
away(aka Abrasion)
Attrition:
Material carried by
waves collide & become
smoother and smaller
Solution:
Chemical reaction where
sea water dissolves some types
of rock such as chalk or limestone
Hydraulic Action: Waves crash
against cliff cracks
trapping air which puts
pressure on the cracks
causing them to break down
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ii. Examples of landforms created:
Wave Cut Platform
1 - Waves erode cliff base (e.g.
via hydraulic action) forming a
wave-cut notch
2 - Cliff face is also eroded by
abrasion
3 - Undercutting continues until
overhanging cliff collapses
4 - Process continues and the
cliff gradually retreats and
becomes steeper
5 - As the cliff retreats, a
gently-sloping rocky platform is left at its base– a ‘wave-cut platform’ exposed at low
tide.
Stacks and Stumps
Tip! Use your coastal project to refresh your knowledge of key coastal features & processes
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Formation of Tombolos
Formation of Bars
Formation of Spits
c) Coastal deposition process and landforms
When waves have insufficient energy to transport their load (e.g. sand) they
simply deposit it. Depending on where this occurs, distinctive land forms are
created e.g. spits, bars and tombolos
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d) Coastal management
The coast is an important space for people (who live and work there) as well
as for ecosystems (animals and plants or dunes for example). Coastlines that
are particularly threatened by erosion may be preserved by using hard and
soft engineering coastal management techniques. Here are just a few:
HARD
Rock Armour / Rip-Rap
What? Large boulders on beach to absorb wave energy and
break the power of the waves
Bad? Can be ugly; undermined easily by waves washing away sand
and shingle beneath them
Good? Although movement of the boulders is expensive this can be a
much cheaper method than some other solutions
Re-Curved Sea Wall
What? Concrete wall curved on underside to deflect wave power
Bad? Very expensive (up to £1-2 million per km)
Good? Very effective means of preventing erosion
Groynes
What? Usually wooden or steel, they are designed to stop
long-shore drift and therefore act to build up and anchor
beach material, protecting the base of cliffs.
Bad? Starve areas further down the coast of material by stopping
long-shore drift, causing an increase in erosion in these areas
Good? Effective at reducing erosion in the area they are constructed
in by causing build-up of beach material
Gabions
What? Cages of boulders built into cliff faces to protect cliffs from wave force
Bad? Ugly
Good? Cheaper than sea walls and effective
Revetments
What? Wooden structures to break the force of waves
Bad? Ugly and need replacing more frequently than most other
defence methods.
Good? Cheap and effective at breaking waves
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SOFT
…e.g. Beach replenishment where beach material is added providing a ‘natural solution’
Bad? Can be expensive to maintain as long-shore drift continues to move beach material down
the coast and therefore regular replenishment is required.
Good? It maintains the beauty of the landscape and is not visually intrusive
Note: Sand dunes also act as a natural barrier to the wave - that’s one reason why we protect them
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2. Extreme Polar Environments: Antarctica
As you revise this topic, think about Scott and Amundsen and the race to the South
Pole. Why did the set off in Oct/Nov? What did they see/hear/feel on their
expedition? What has happened to Antarctica since 1912 and why?
1. The seasons: When is Antarctica in summer / winter and why? When
does it experience 24 hour sunlight v darkness?
Around June Antarctica experiences winter as it is tilted away from the sun. The
sun’s radiation is therefore weaker
and temperatures drop so the ocean
freezes over. There are days of
complete darkness.
Around December Antarctica
experiences summer as it is tilted
towards the sun. The sun’s radiation
is stronger so temperatures rise (still
cold though!) and the ‘sea ice’ melts.
..Some days are light for 24 hours!
December
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Summer in Antarctica
Closer to the sun
Higher temperature
More light
Longer days
Less ice
June
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Winter in Antarctica
Further from sun
Lower temperature
Less light
Shorter days
More ice
2. Map of Antarctica: You need to learn the locations below –
Weddell Sea
Ronne Ice Shelf
Antarctic
Peninsula
East Antarctica
West Antarctica
Ross Ice Shelf
Transantarctic
Mountains
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3. Ice Sheets and Sea Ice:
a) What are they?
Sea ice is frozen sea water.
An ice sheet is a mass of
glacial land freshwater ice
extending more than 20,000
square miles. Antarctica’s
ice sheet extends almost 5.4
million square miles (roughly
the area of the US and
Mexico combined) and averages 2,450 m deep!
b) How do they form?
Sea ice forms mainly in winter when the surface of a large area of the
Southern Ocean freezes around Antarctica and melts (retreats) in summer.
Ice sheets form in areas where snow that falls in winter does not melt
entirely over the summer. Over thousands of years, the layers of snow pile
up into thick masses of ice, growing thicker and denser as the weight of
new snow and ice layers compresses the older layers.
c) What are the differences between them?
Sea ice is seawater so contains salt, ice sheets are freshwater so don’t.
Melting ice sheets contribute to a sea level rise, sea ice does not because
Sea Ice is not new water into the oceans (think freeze bottle of water).
4. Antarctic Treaty:
a) What is it? Why was it
necessary? The Antarctic Treaty
came into force in 1961 following
increasing pressure on its
resources and new territorial
claims. The treaty aimed to
promote international scientific
cooperation in Antarctica; prevent
military activity; promote
Antarctica as a place to undertake
important scientific research; ban
nuclear testing or dumping; set
aside territorial claims.
Early Territorial Claims
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b) Who were the founding members and why?
There were 12 founding members: Argentina, Australia, New Zealand,
Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, Norway, UK, USA, Russia, South Africa
(Why? Countries close to Antarctica, explorers or wanting its resources).
c) What is ‘sustainable development’?
‘Sustainable development’ meets the needs of the present generation and
retains our ability to meet the needs of future generations e.g. replacing
trees, using renewable energy like solar panels, recycling; fishing quotas…
5. Ice sheets and global warming:
a. What is global warming and how
is it contributing to the melting of
ice sheets? Global warming is the
gradual warming of the Earth’s
atmosphere due largely to human
activities. Additional greenhouse
gases e.g. CO2 in the atmosphere
allows the sun’s radiation IN but
absorbs the heat trying to get OUT
producing a warming – the
greenhouse effect. Increased
temperatures cause melting of
glaciers and ice. There are some
natural greenhouse gases in the
atmosphere but they can also be
produced by human activity e.g.
burning coal and petrol, known as 'fossil fuels'
b. What would happen if the Antarctic ice sheet was to melt?
I) Sea level would rise globally causes flooding of low lying areas.
II) Antarctica is pushed into the Earth by the weight of its ice sheets. If they
melted, it would "spring back" about 500m over thousands of years.
Revision Tip:
Look in your exercise book and work your way through the
‘Coasts’ and ‘Antarctica’ end of section test questions. Use the
answers I have provided to see how well you know the topic. Then
revise these areas until you can get 100% in the tests.
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