10 questions🇬🇧English
🌊 Coastal Systems & Sediment Cells – A-level
Geography · A-level — sediment cells and budgets, wave energy, dynamic equilibrium and shoreline management
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Questions
Why is a coastal system described as an open system?
Energy and matter can enter and leave it
Sediment stays within it permanently
Only energy can cross its boundaries
Matter can cross its boundaries but not energy
20s
Into how many major sediment cells is the coastline of England and Wales usually divided?
7
21
11
15
20s
Which feature is typical of a constructive wave?
A steep, plunging wave form
A frequency of 13–15 waves per minute
Backwash is stronger than swash
Swash is stronger than backwash
20s
During longshore drift, why does the backwash carry sediment straight back down the beach?
It always flows parallel to the coastline
It follows the prevailing wind direction
It is pulled down at right angles by gravity
It is pushed back by the incoming tide
30s
Which combination of conditions is most typical of a high-energy coast?
Short fetch, destructive waves, wide sandy bays
Long fetch, destructive waves, erosional landforms
Short fetch, constructive waves, salt marshes
Long fetch, constructive waves, mudflats
30s
A sediment cell gains 40,000 m³ of sediment a year and loses 55,000 m³. What does this suggest?
A deficit of 95,000 m³, so net erosion
A deficit of 15,000 m³, so net erosion
A surplus of 15,000 m³, so net accretion
A balanced budget in dynamic equilibrium
30s
A beach is steep in summer, then flattens in winter as sediment moves to offshore bars and later returns. This shows:
Dynamic equilibrium
Isostatic adjustment
Positive feedback
Sediment cell closure
30s
Wave energy is proportional to the square of wave height. If wave height doubles, by what factor does wave energy increase?
8 times
2 times
4 times
16 times
30s
Which Shoreline Management Plan policy lets the shoreline move inland in a controlled way, such as by breaching old sea walls?
No active intervention
Hold the line
Managed realignment
Advance the line
30s
Groynes are built to trap sediment on one stretch of coast. What is the most likely effect further along the coast?
Increased deposition downdrift due to extra sediment
A larger tidal range downdrift
Increased erosion downdrift due to sediment starvation
A shorter fetch for waves downdrift
30s