What you'll learn
How the sea shapes the coastline and how coasts are managed.
Processes
- Erosion: hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition, solution.
- Transportation: longshore drift moves material along the coast.
- Deposition occurs where waves lose energy.
Landforms
- Erosion: headlands and bays, caves–arches–stacks–stumps, cliffs and wave-cut platforms.
- Deposition: beaches, spits and bars.
- Coral reefs and mangroves: conditions needed and their value/threats.
Management
- Hard engineering (sea walls, groynes, rip-rap) vs soft engineering (beach nourishment, managed retreat).
Exam tips
- Use a labelled diagram to explain landform formation.
- Evaluate management with costs and benefits.
Common mistakes
- Confusing erosion and deposition landforms.
- Not sequencing the stages of cave→arch→stack.