MARINE PROCESSES: EROSION LANDFORMS

WAVE CUT

PLATFORMS

Really? U Don't Know What They Are?

Wave cut Platforms are perfectly named. Simply put, they really are platforms of rock created by waves cutting away at the cliffs, leaving just a rock surface at beach level.

What happened

to the cliffs??

1.

Whe

n cli

ffs ar

e bein

g wo

rn aw

ay

the p

roce

sses

of w

eath

ering

and

eros

ion on

ly ac

t on

the

parts

of th

e cliff

that

are a

bove

the l

evel

of th

e bea

ch.

2.Once the cliff has been worn

down to the same level as the

beach, the ability of the sea to

continue to erode the remaining

rock becomes much reduced.

3.Under the right conditions the continuous erosion and landward retreat of the cliff line produces a wide, flat, area of rock,

looking as if the foundations of the cliff have been exposed.

Here’s one:Broad Bench, UK

Wave cut platforms are often most obvious at low tide when they become visible as huge areas of flat rock. Sometimes the landward side of the platform is covered by sand, forming the beach, and then the platform can only be identi-fied at low tides or when storms move the sand.

Ancient wave cut platforms provide evidence of past sea levels. Raised and abandoned platforms, sometimes found behind modern beaches, are evidence of higher sea levels in the geological past.

And some more pictures.....

Kim

miri

dge

bay,

Do

rset

, UK

Short Video

On Wave Cut

Platforms

Thank you so much for your time,

Daisy

Sowah