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Cards In This Set
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What is the difference between active and passive continental margins with respect to the types of coastlines that develop at each?
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Passive continental margins form large flat sandy beaches on the east coastActive continental margins form mountainous, really steep cliff lines, on west coast
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What is a wave?
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Wave is energy moving through water
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What are wave fronts?
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Wave fronts are lines along the crest
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What are wave
normals?
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Wave normals are lines perpendicular to fronts - show wave travel direction
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What are three factors that control the size of waves?
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Wave size is a function of fetch (distance over which wind blows), the duration of the wind activity and the wind velocity
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How do the shapes of waves and the trajectories of water movement within waves change as they enter shallow water?
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The shapes of the wave change as the enter shallow water because the bottom of the wave experiences increased friction and the top of the wave remains at a constant speed – causes a crest and breaking motion of the wave
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What is wave refraction?
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Wave refraction is the bending of wave fronts as one part of a wave reaches shallow water and slows down before another part-straightens out
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What is longshore drift?
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Long-shore transportation of sediment
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What are the two main sources for beach sediment?
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Two man sources for beach sediment are sea cliff erosion and rivers
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Why aren’t beaches composed of mud?
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Wave motion removes mud particles which are really tiny
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Why does wave refraction tend to straighten coastlines?
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Wave refraction straightens coast lines- as the wave hits it the point it is straightens it pulls the sediment down shore with the wave so it flattens out that point
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What is a beach?
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A beach is a gently sloping surface that is covered in sediment
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How and why do beaches change between summer and winter?
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Summer has more gentle winds that pile up more sediment on the beach enlarging the coast line.Winter has a smaller beach due to the stronger winds which take away sediment and more turbulent waters
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What are barrier islands?
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Barrier islands are narrow flat long islands of sand parallel to the coast
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What are
spits?
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Spits are finger like ridge of sediment extending into deeper waters created by long-shore drift
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