AQA GCSE Geography · 8035
Specification 3.1.3.2 · Paper 1
Revise: Wave Types and Coastal ProcessesWater then rushes up the beach as swash and returns down it under gravity as backwash.
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GCSE Geography · key term
The movement of water up a beach after a wave breaks.
Used by AQA, Edexcel and OCR
Specification 3.1.3.2 · Paper 1
Revise: Wave Types and Coastal ProcessesWater then rushes up the beach as swash and returns down it under gravity as backwash.
Specification 1.3 · Paper 1
Revise: Coastal Physical ProcessesWater running up the beach is swash; water returning down it under gravity is backwash.
In a longshore drift diagram, show angled swash, backwash at right angles to the shoreline and the overall direction of sediment transport.
In a longshore drift explanation, link angled swash to approaching waves and downslope backwash to gravity.
Explain longshore drift as a sequence: angled wave approach → angled swash → backwash straight down the slope → net movement along the coast.
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Paper 2
Revise: Marine and Sub-aerial Coastal ProcessesWhen a wave breaks, water moves up the beach as swash, then returns towards the sea as backwash. Destructive waves are relatively high and steep, with short wavelengths and a high frequency. Their backwash is stronger than their swash, so they tend to drag beach material away.
Specification 3.2a · Paper 1, Paper 3
Revise: Coastal Landforms: Erosional and Depositional FeaturesWhen a wave breaks, water moves up the beach as swash. It then returns down the beach as backwash. Constructive waves have strong swash and weaker backwash: they carry sediment up the beach but remove relatively little as the water returns.