The case study location will be identified e.g. Flamborough Head / Durdle Door / Old Harry Rocks.

A discordant coastline is where the geology alternates between strata (bands) of soft and hard rock.

Find out more about discordant coastlines.

Longshore drift happens when waves approach the beach at an angle. The swash (waves moving up the beach) carries material up and along the beach. The backwash (waves moving back down the beach) carries material back down the beach at right angles. This is the result of gravity. This process slowly moves material along the beach and provides a link between erosion and deposition. The material is transported through suspension, traction, solution and saltation. Longshore drift provides a link between erosion, transportation and deposition.

Find out more about longshore drift.

Headlands form along discordant coastlines.

Find out more about discordant coastlines.

The beach is the area between the lowest spring tide level and the point reached by the storm waves in the highest tides.

Find out more about landforms of coastal deposition.