Key Terms: Coastal Landscape Development (AQA A Level Geography): Revision Note

Landforms of the coast - key terms

Arch – A natural rock formation where an opening is created through a headland by wave erosion, often forming after a cave is eroded completely through.

Backwash – The water that flows back down the beach toward the sea after a wave breaks.

Barrier beach – A bar that connects two headlands, with a lagoon often forming behind it.

Beach – A depositional landform made of sand or pebbles, formed by constructive waves.

Cave – A hollow feature at the base of a cliff formed when waves erode along lines of weakness.

Drift-aligned beach – A beach where sediment is moved along the shore by longshore drift.

Hooked spit – A curved end of a spit, formed by a change in prevailing wind direction.

Lagoon – A shallow body of water separated from the sea by a bar or barrier beach.

Longshore drift – The movement of sediment along the coast in a zigzag pattern caused by swash and backwash.

Pioneer plant species – The first plants to colonise bare sand dunes, helping stabilise the dune and beginning plant succession.

Plant succession – The gradual development of vegetation communities over time in dunes or marshes.

Raised beach – A former beach now above sea level, left stranded by isostatic uplift.

Salt marsh – A coastal wetland formed behind spits and barrier beaches where sediment builds up in sheltered water, colonised by salt-tolerant plants.

Sand dune – A hill or ridge of sand formed by wind action, stabilised by vegetation over time.

Spit – A narrow deposit of sand or shingle projecting out to sea, formed by longshore drift where the coastline changes direction.

Stack – A tall column of rock isolated from the coast, formed when an arch collapses.

Stump – The eroded remains of a stack, visible at low tide.

Swash-aligned beach – A beach formed where waves break parallel to the shoreline with minimal lateral sediment movement.

Tombolo – A ridge of sand or shingle joining an island to the mainland, formed by longshore drift and deposition.

Wave-cut notch – An indentation at the base of a cliff caused by wave erosion.

Wave-cut platform – A flat, often rocky area at the base of a cliff left behind after the cliff has retreated due to erosion.

Sea level changes - key terms

Accretion – The gradual build-up of sediment, often creating new land in a sediment cell.

Dalmatian coast – A submergent landform where valleys running parallel to the coast are flooded, leaving ridges as offshore islands.

Emergent coastline – A coastal area that has risen relative to sea level, exposing landforms such as raised beaches and fossil cliffs.

Eustatic change – A global sea level change due to variation in the amount of water in the oceans, often caused by melting or formation of ice and thermal expansion.

Fjord – A deep, glacially-carved valley now flooded by rising sea levels, usually deeper inland and U-shaped in profile.

Isostatic change – Localised sea level change caused by vertical land movement, often due to the melting of glaciers or sediment compaction.

Isostatic recovery – The gradual uplift of land after the melting of heavy glacial ice that once weighed it down.

Post-glacial adjustment – A process where land rebounds upward after being depressed by the weight of glaciers.

Ria – A drowned river valley formed by rising sea levels, typically with a V-shaped cross section.

Sea level rise – The increase in global sea levels due to climate change, melting glaciers, and thermal expansion of water.

Submergent coastline – A coastline that has been drowned by rising sea levels, forming features such as rias, fjords, and Dalmatian coasts.

Subsidence – The sinking or settling of land due to natural or human causes, such as groundwater removal or sediment overload.

Thermal expansion – The increase in water volume as ocean temperatures rise, contributing to sea level rise.