Option B • Section 2
Interactions Between Oceans and Coastal Places
How waves, tides, currents, sediment and sea-level change shape coastal landscapes.
Physical processes and landforms at coastal margins, including advancing and retreating coastlines
Waves, tides and littoral drift
Energy enters coastal systems through waves, tides and currents, moving water and sediment.
Annotated process diagrams
Draw and explain wave formation, swash/backwash, constructive and destructive waves, tidal range and longshore drift. Use arrows and active process labels.
Erosion, deposition and coastal landscapes
Geology, wave energy, sediment supply and time interact to produce distinctive landforms.
Erosional processes include hydraulic action, abrasion, attrition and solution. Deposition occurs when energy falls. Strong answers explain how processes work together rather than naming them separately.
Detective Geo Morph
Select one erosional and one depositional landform. Sequence the interacting processes, add lithology and wave-energy controls, and finish with a labelled exam-quality diagram.
Advancing and retreating coasts
Relative sea-level change, sediment budgets and human interventions alter shoreline position.
Distinguish eustatic sea-level change from isostatic and tectonic land movement. Coastal advance may reflect deposition or reclamation; retreat may reflect erosion, subsidence or rising relative sea level.
Coastline-change diagnosis
For three contrasting coastlines, identify whether sea level, land movement, sediment supply or human action is dominant. Explain why multiple processes may operate together.
Sand dunes and coastal protection
Wind, vegetation, sediment supply and disturbance shape dune succession and resilience.
Dune transect
Build a labelled transect from strandline to mature dune. Explain changes in wind speed, vegetation, soil, moisture and biodiversity, then evaluate dunes as natural coastal protection.