Landforms and landscapes: Marine processes and waves

What is the term for the uninterrupted distance across water over which a wind blows, and therefore the distance waves have to grow?

• Fetch

• Swash

• Tide

• Current

What is the term for the flow of water up a beach as a wave breaks?

• Swash

• Backwash

• Fetch

• Tide

What is the term for when water runs back down the beach to meet the next incoming wave?

• Backwash

• Swash

• Tide

• Breaker

Which of the following is NOT a factor that affects wave size?

• A) Strength of the wind

• B) Duration the wind blows

• C) Water temperature

• D) Wave fetch

Constructive waves have a (a)   wave height and a (b)   wave length.

• high

• low

• short

• long

Destructive waves have a wave height of over 1 m and a wave length of around 20 m.

• True

• False

Match the following terms to their correct definitions:

• When water runs back down the beach to meet the next incoming wave.

• Fetch

• The flow of water up a beach as a wave breaks.

• Swash

• The uninterrupted distance across water over which a wind blows.

• Backwash

According to the text, what is the main difference between constructive and destructive waves?

• Constructive waves build up the beach by depositing sediment, while destructive waves erode the beach by removing sediment.

• Constructive waves are always larger than destructive waves.

• Destructive waves occur only during storms, while constructive waves occur only in calm weather.

• Constructive waves remove sediment from the beach, while destructive waves deposit sediment.

What is the definition of 'beach morphology'?

• The process of wave erosion on cliffs

• The shape of a beach, including its width and slope, and features such as berms, ridges, and runnels, as well as the type of sediment (shingle, sand, mud) found at different locations on the beach

• The movement of sediment along the coast

• The formation of coastal landforms

Fill in the blank: Storm beaches result from high-energy deposition of very coarse sediment during the most severe _______.

• storms

• tides

• earthquakes

• droughts