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Coastal Landscapes

Sediment sources, sediment cells and dynamic equilibrium

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 1 Section A

Overview

Coastal sediment cell, why sediment cells matter for coastal management and dynamic equilibrium in the coastal system.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Define a coastal sediment cell.

Key term

How many major sediment cells are recognised around England and Wales?

Key term

What usually marks the boundary of a sediment cell?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Define a coastal sediment cell.

    Model answer

    A sediment cell is a length of coastline within which sediment movement is largely self-contained. Inputs, transfers and outputs of material balance within its own boundaries.

  2. 2

    How many major sediment cells are recognised around England and Wales?

    Model answer

    Eleven major sediment cells are recognised around the coast of England and Wales. Each is subdivided into smaller sub-cells for management purposes.

  3. 3

    What usually marks the boundary of a sediment cell?

    Model answer

    A large headland or a deep-water channel usually forms the boundary. Such a feature blocks or diverts the alongshore movement of sediment.

  4. 4

    Why are sediment cells described as closed only in theory?

    Model answer

    Fine sediment in suspension can pass around headlands and in and out of deep water. Cells are therefore better described as leaky rather than fully closed.

  5. 5

    Explain why sediment cells matter for coastal management.

    Model answer

    Defences built in one part of a cell change the sediment supply to the rest of it. Groynes at Mappleton in Holderness starved the beaches immediately south of them.

  6. 6

    Define dynamic equilibrium in the coastal system.

    Model answer

    Dynamic equilibrium is a state in which inputs and outputs balance over time while the system keeps changing in detail. The overall form of the coast is maintained even though sediment is constantly on the move.

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