Which outcome occurs when wave energy focuses geometrically on a headland?

💡 Explanation

Wave refraction concentrates energy on headlands, causing erosion, because wave fronts bend inwards. This focusing increases the power of waves impacting the headland, leading to amplified erosion, therefore accelerating coastal erosion via wave refraction, rather than deposition or diffraction.

• Which outcome will accelerate glacial retreat when volcanic ash deposits darken ice surfaces?
• Which risk increases as seasonal flooding deposits alluvial layers upon coastal infrastructure?
• Which consequence results when persistent winds encounter alluvial fans?
• Which mechanism causes shallow intra-plate earthquakes adjacent to transform boundaries?
• Which mechanism creates crevasse splays when floodwater overtops a natural levee along a river?
• Which effect results when persistent ice dams form along glacial meltwater streams?