Download Erosion Vocabulary and Tasks

Erosion Vocabulary
Abrasion – erosion caused by wearing away of cliffs by sediment (sand,
shells, rocks etc) flung by breaking waves
Arch – wave-eroded passage through a headland
Attrition –when rocks in the waves bump into each other and become
smaller pieces
Backwash – the return of the water to the sea after waves break on a beach
Bays – bodies of water found between headlands where there are outcrops
of harder rock and softer rock with the softer rock wearing away
Beach – the temporary deposition of sand along the coastline – without it the
coast is vulnerable
Breakwater – offshore coastal defense structures
Cliffs – hard resistant rocks higher than the surrounding area
Cliff recession – cliffs worn away by erosion or wave action
Corrosion – when the sea throws rocks at the cliff and breaks bits off
Deposition – when sand and sediment is moved and deposited in another
area
Erosion – the wearing away of land and rocks by rivers, ice, wind and waves
Fetch – the maximum distance winds can blow over water to their ultimate
destination
Groyne – wooden barrier built out into the sea to stop longshore drift
Hard, resistant rock – holds headlands together
Soft, less resistant rock – is worn away by erosion etc
Headland – areas of land protruding (sticking) out into the sea
Hydraulic action – water forces air into cracks into the rocks and the pressure
builds until the rocks break
Longshore drift – waves approaching the land at an angle cause the sand etc
to move along the coast
Prevailing wind – the direction the wind usually blows
Solution – when salt in the water causes a chemical reaction in the rocks
which breaks them down
Stack – rock left standing out at sea after it has been separated by the
mainland
Stump – when a stack is worn away and gets smaller
Wave attack – the movement and damage caused by waves breaking along
the coast
Wave cut platform – a rocky platform found at the bottom of an eroding cliff
which is exposed at low tide
Weathering (biological, chemical and physical) - breaking down rock
Problems and Solutions
 What are the erosion problems that you can see above?
(Describe what you see happening)
 How have humans contributed to this issue?
 What do you believe caused this level of erosion? (Be specific, what is
happening at the beach that is causing this damage to happen?)
 Hint: Use scientific or subject specific language to support this eg: Hydraulic,
wave type, backwash etc
 Who is this erosion problem affecting?
 Is this erosion benefitting humans or animals? If so, in what ways?
 What are the erosion problems that you can see above?
(Describe what you see happening)
 How have humans contributed to this issue?
 How do you think the problem got to the point that it has?
 What do you believe caused this level of erosion? (Be specific, what is
happening at the beach that is causing this damage to happen?)
 Hint: Use scientific or subject specific language to support this eg: Hydraulic,
wave type, backwash etc
 Who is this erosion problem affecting?
 Is this erosion benefitting humans or animals? If so, in what ways?