Coastal Abrasion (or Corrosion) – The wearing away of cliffs by sediment flung by breaking waves

In order to understand coastal abrasion, you need to understand the word abrasion.

Abrasion – Wear down and grind down.

(pronounced uh-bray-zhun)

To remember the meaning of the term Coastal Abrasion, use the following mnemonic:

You could hear the brays from (abrasion) the donkey as she wore down and ground down the corn.

So coastal abrasion is the wearing down and grinding down of a coast.

Abrasion occurs as breaking waves which contain sand and large fragments smash along the cliff and wear it away. It is commonly known as the sandpaper effect.

Abrasion is when two surfaces rub against each other and attrition is where they bounce or smash against each other. Abrasion is rubbing, scratching and scuffing.

Breaking waves throw sand, pebbles and sometimes boulders against the cliff face. These scrape away at the rock rather like sandpaper, eventually causing undercutting at the base of the cliff.