Which process most directly forms narrow, steep-sided fjords along coastlines over geological timescales?

💡 Explanation

When glaciers flow towards the sea, differential glacial erosion occurs creating deep U-shaped valleys because ice erodes softer rock more rapidly, leading to fjords after sea level rise. Therefore, glacial erosion is the direct cause, rather than volcanism, deposition, uplift and weathering which create different geological landforms.

• Which feedback mechanism enhances cirque formation at high altitudes?
• Which risk increases when groundwater extraction destabilizes a region along an existing fault line?
• Which outcome occurs when increased glacial melting causes large-scale freshwater discharge into subpolar ocean currents?
• Which outcome is amplified when wave diffraction focuses energy around coastal headlands with sea stacks?
• Which mechanism minimizes coastal fog formation during increased offshore upwelling events?
• Which outcome influences speleothem growth when carbon saturation decreases?