The sheer cliffs are composed of white chalk, or calcite, made by coccolithophores – tiny, single-celled algae at the bottom of the marine food chain.
What caused the White Cliffs of Dover?
The Geology
Around seventy million years ago this part of Britain was submerged by a shallow sea. The sea bottom was made of a white mud formed from the fragments of coccoliths, which were the skeletons of tiny algae which floated in the surface waters of the sea. This mud was later to become the chalk.
Are the White Cliffs of Dover diatomaceous earth?
“Diatomaceous earth” is mined from ocean sedimentary deposits ( the White Cliffs of Dover in England are diatoms). Diatoms have always been important producers in the ocean . The waters they do well in tend to be better mixed and the mixing is important in keeping these diatoms higher in the water where the sun is.
What animals live on the White Cliffs of Dover?
The cliffs are home to wildlife such as the Adonis blue butterfly, chalkhill blues, the red admiral, painted lady and yellow clouded butterfly. The latter are more in evidence during their migration when they fly to the UK from Africa. In July you may see rare moths such as the day-flying straw belle.
Where are the White Cliffs of Dover Why are they so white?
The White Cliffs of Dover is the region of English coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliff face, which reaches a height of 350 feet (110 m), owes its striking appearance to its composition of chalk accented by streaks of black flint, deposited during the Late Cretaceous.
When were the White Cliffs of Dover formed?
The cliffs are composed mainly of coccoliths and trace their origins to the Cretaceous Period, approximately 136 million years ago, when the area between Britain in the west and Sweden/Poland in the east was submerged under deep tropical waters.
When was the white cliff of Dover formed?
about 100 million years ago
The White Cliffs of Dover, the steep, chalky cliffs that fringe England’s southeastern coastline, formed about 100 million years ago thanks to a “Goldilocks” set of ocean conditions, new research suggests.
Are the White Cliffs of Dover a carbon sink?
Dover’s famed White Cliffs are actually comprised of millions of years’ worth of dead plankton, otherwise known as marine snow. And they had served as a carbon sink, storing vast amounts of carbon dioxide.
Why are blue birds over the White Cliffs of Dover?
Background. The song was written about a year after the Royal Air Force and German Luftwaffe aircraft had been fighting over southern England, including the white cliffs of Dover, in the Battle of Britain. Nazi Germany had conquered much of Europe and in 1941 was still bombing Britain.
Are the White Cliffs of Dover crumbling?
The iconic White Cliffs of Dover have been eroding 10 times faster in the last 150 years than they did over the previous 7,000 years, researchers say. The beautiful cliffs that were formed some 90 million years ago are white because of their chalk composition, which is particularly vulnerable to erosion.
What animals live on cliffs?
Cliff Animals
- Amphibians — can occur on wet, moist, north-facing cliffs, including several species of lungless salamanders (family Plethodontidae) and pickerel frogs.
- Reptiles — usually found on dry, warm cliffs, including prairie lizards, five-lined skinks, rough greensnakes, and timber rattlesnakes.
What is an interesting fact about the White Cliffs of Dover?
Formed by ice-age floods, the cliffs are up to 110 metres high (350 feet) and run east and west from Dover in Kent, stretching 8 miles in total. The Strait of Dover is the shortest distance between England and France (a little under 21 miles) and on a clear day you can see the cliffs from the French coast.
What happened at the White Cliffs of Dover?
During the Second World War, the White Cliffs of Dover were Britain’s frontline from 1941 and large gun batteries were constructed along the coast. On the cliffs close to South Foreland, important gun positions were built which would attack enemy forces across the Channel.
Why is white cliff white?
Chalk Layers
As the chalk sediments built up over time, they formed the three layers of the cliffs: upper, middle and lower. The upper layer is a nodular chalk with flints. The middle is white, nodular chalk. The bottom is glauconitic marl and gray chalk.
How are cliffs formed?
Cliffs are usually formed because of processes called erosion and weathering. Weathering happens when natural events, like wind or rain, break up pieces of rock. In coastal areas, strong winds and powerful waves break off soft or grainy rocks from hardier rocks. The harder rocks are left as cliffs.
Are the White Cliffs of Dover sedimentary rock?
Sedimentary Rock – Cliffs of Dover.
Can you swim at the White Cliffs of Dover?
Apart from Langdon Stairs, there is no beach level accessibility from the White Cliffs of Dover property through to St Margaret’s Bay. It is largely unsafe to swim below the cliffs between Kingsdown and The Port of Dover or towards France without authorisation. It is advisable otherwise to visit the beach either at St.
What organisms in the ocean absorb the most carbon dioxide?
Phytoplankton are the main reason the ocean is one of the biggest carbon sinks. These microscopic marine algae and bacteria play a huge role in the world’s carbon cycle – absorbing about as much carbon as all the plants and trees on land combined.
What organism brings co2 into the ocean carbon cycle by what process?
Phytoplankton. (Greek for drifting plants) are microscopic, one-celled organisms that drift in the sunlit surface areas of the world’s oceans and are key to bringing carbon down into the ocean biological pump from the atmosphere via the process of photosynthesis.
How does co2 get in the ocean?
The ocean absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere wherever air meets water. Wind causes waves and turbulence, giving more opportunity for the water to absorb the carbon dioxide. Fish and other animals in the ocean breathe oxygen and give off carbon dioxide (CO2), just like land animals.
Which bird build their nest on cliffs?
Cliff Swallows build their mud nests on cliff faces and other vertical surfaces in colonies containing hundreds, even thousands of other birds. They also build nests in the eaves of buildings.