AQA · A-Level · Geography

    Course version: 7037 · Version from Sept 2018

    Systems in physical geography: systems concepts and their application to…

    Full specification wording

    Coasts as natural systems: Systems in physical geography: systems concepts and their application to the development of coastal landscapes – inputs, outputs, energy, stores/components, flows/transfers, positive/negative feedback, dynamic equilibrium. The concepts of landform and landscape and how related landforms combine to form characteristic landscapes.

    Coastal environments operate as open systems, exchanging both energy and matter with their surroundings.

    Checked against the AQA 7037 specification (opens in a new tab) on .

    • 4 key terms

    Study notes

    From the checked teaching notes for this specification point.

    The idea

    Coastal environments operate as open systems, exchanging both energy and matter with their surroundings. Inputs like solar energy and sediment from rivers drive flows and transfers, such as longshore drift, moving material between stores like beaches and dunes. Outputs include sediment washed offshore. When inputs equal outputs, the system achieves dynamic equilibrium. Disturbances trigger feedback: positive feedback amplifies change (e.g., storm erosion removing vegetation, leading to further dune loss), while negative feedback dampens it (e.g., cliff collapse creating a protective scree slope). A landform is an individual feature, like a stack or spit. Related landforms combine to create a characteristic landscape, such as a coastal plain featuring spits, salt marshes, and lagoons working together.

    What earns the marks

    • Define coasts as open systems with inputs (sediment, energy), outputs (sediment loss), stores (beaches), and flows (longshore drift).
    • Explain dynamic equilibrium as the balanced state where inputs and outputs are equal, maintaining a stable coastal system over time.
    • Distinguish between positive feedback (amplifying change, e.g., blowout development in dunes) and negative feedback (restoring balance, e.g., beach profiling during storms).
    • Differentiate a landform (an individual relief feature like a wave-cut platform) from a landscape (a broader area comprising multiple interacting landforms).
    • Illustrate how landforms combine into landscapes, such as a headland, cave, arch, and stack sequence forming a high-energy rocky coastal landscape.

    Common mistakes and how to put them right

    • Confusing positive and negative feedback.

      Put it right: Positive feedback amplifies a change away from equilibrium, whereas negative feedback restores the system to its original state.

    • Using 'landform' and 'landscape' interchangeably.

      Put it right: A landform is a single distinct feature (e.g., a spit), while a landscape is the wider visual and physical environment made of multiple landforms.

    • Assuming coastal systems are closed.

      Put it right: Coasts are open systems because they transfer both energy (e.g., wave power) and matter (e.g., sediment) across their boundaries.

    Exam tips

    • Always use specific coastal examples when defining systems terminology, such as citing a beach as a sediment store.
    • When discussing dynamic equilibrium, explain the specific mechanisms of negative feedback that help restore the balance after a storm event.
    • Structure landscape answers by showing the spatial and genetic relationships between individual landforms, like how a spit shelters a salt marsh.

    Try the lesson

    The start of the Coasts as natural systems: Systems in physical geography: systems concepts and their application to the development of coastal landscapes – inputs, outputs, energy, stores/components, flows/transfers, positive/negative feedback, dynamic equilibrium. The concepts of landform and landscape and how related landforms combine to form characteristic landscapes. lesson, made from checked teaching notes for this specification point.

    Have a go first

    In the context of coastal systems, which scenario best describes a state of dynamic equilibrium?

    Listen

    Coastal environments operate as open systems, exchanging both energy and matter with their surroundings. Inputs like solar energy and sediment from rivers drive flows and transfers, such as longshore drift, moving material between stores like beaches and dunes. Outputs include sediment washed offshore. When inputs equal outputs, the system achieves dynamic equilibrium. Disturbances trigger feedback: positive feedback amplifies change (e.g., storm erosion removing vegetation, leading to further dune loss), while negative feedback dampens it (e.g., cliff collapse creating a protective scree slope). A landform is an individual feature, like a stack or spit. Related landforms combine to create a characteristic landscape, such as a coastal plain featuring spits, salt marshes, and lagoons working together. A strong answer earns marks for these points. Define coasts as open systems with inputs (sediment, energy), outputs (sediment loss), stores (beaches), and flows (longshore drift). Explain dynamic equilibrium as the balanced state where inputs and outputs are equal, maintaining a stable coastal system over time. Distinguish between positive feedback (amplifying change, e.g., blowout development in dunes) and negative feedback (restoring balance, e.g., beach profiling during storms). Differentiate a landform (an individual relief feature like a wave-cut platform) from a landscape (a broader area comprising multiple interacting landforms). A common slip: Confusing positive and negative feedback. Instead, positive feedback amplifies a change away from equilibrium, whereas negative feedback restores the system to its original state. Exam tip: Always use specific coastal examples when defining systems terminology, such as citing a beach as a sediment store.

    See it

    A top-down flowchart. The first box, Inputs: solar energy, sediment from rivers, has an arrow to Stores/components: beaches, dunes. That box points to Flows/transfers: longshore drift, which points to Outputs: sediment washed offshore. That points to Dynamic equilibrium: inputs equal outputs, which points to Disturbance. Disturbance branches into two boxes: Positive feedback: amplifies change and Negative feedback: dampens change. Positive feedback points to Change away from equilibrium. Negative feedback points back to Dynamic equilibrium: inputs equal outputs.
    It shows a coastal system's inputs, stores, flows and outputs, how dynamic equilibrium arises when inputs equal outputs, and how positive and negative feedback respond to a disturbance.

    Key words

    Say what each word means before you turn the card.

    Dynamic equilibrium

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    Positive feedback

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    Negative feedback

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    Landform

    Try answering aloud or in your head before turning the card.

    See every definition
    Dynamic equilibrium
    The balanced state where inputs and outputs are equal, maintaining a stable coastal system over time.
    Positive feedback
    A process that amplifies change away from equilibrium, such as storm erosion removing vegetation and leading to further dune loss.
    Negative feedback
    A process that dampens change and restores balance, such as cliff collapse creating a protective scree slope.
    Landform
    An individual feature, like a stack or spit, that combines with related features to create a characteristic landscape.

    Label the diagram

    Some boxes have lost their names. Pick the right name for each number.

    The diagram again, with 3 boxes numbered instead of named. A top-down flowchart. The first box, Inputs: solar energy, sediment from rivers, has an arrow to Stores/components: beaches, dunes. That box points to Flows/transfers: longshore drift, which points to Outputs: sediment washed offshore. That points to Dynamic equilibrium: inputs equal outputs, which points to Disturbance. Disturbance branches into two boxes: Positive feedback: amplifies change and Negative feedback: dampens change. Positive feedback points to Change away from equilibrium. Negative feedback points back to Dynamic equilibrium: inputs equal outputs.

    • 1Box 1

    • 2Box 2

    • 3Box 3

    0 of 3 labelled

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