6b - Coasts Fieldwork Flashcards
What was our enquiry question/aim?
Are the coastal management methods used in Start Bay appropriate?
What locations did we visit and briefly describe them?
Hallsands - few small/medium houses with a beach protected by rock armour
Beesands - bigger settlement with some facilities like pubs, b&bs etc and protected by a sea wall & rock armour
Sunnydale - beach with remains of a road leading to 5 small houses and protected by some gabion baskets
Torcross - largest settlement along this part of Start Bay with a hotel and valuable houses with a few tourist facilities and protected by a large sea wall
Why did we choose this location?
Safe location
Accessible from Slapton field centre
Had contrasting geography between each of the 4 locations which had coastal management methods
What were our 3 sub hypothesis?
- The most cost effective coastal management scheme will be located in Torcross
- The risk of flooding and erosion is highest in Torcross
- Sea defences will have negative environmental and social impact
State the hypothesis, methods, presentation and conclusion for hypothesis 1
Hypothesis: The most cost effective coastal schemes will be located in Torcross
Methods: Bipolar survey of coastal management methods & Cost-benefit analysis of coastal defences
Presentation: Radar graph showing bipolar scores
Conclusion: Torcross had the highest bipolar score but Sunnydale had the highest cost-benefit analysis score
Explain a method of hypothesis 1 and state the pros and cons
Bipolar survey (primary, quantitative data) - we scored each coastal defence between -3 and 3 against criteria such as aesthetics, price, tourism etc
Pros:
Considers economic, environmental and social factors
Numerical data is easily comparable
Cons:
We scored them so subjectivity introduced, especially if someone did not understand the task
Scoring range perhaps too small, may oversimplify complex aspects
We did not align them with specific standards or criteria
Explain another method of hypothesis 1 and state the pros and cons
Cost-benefit analysis (primary, secondary, quantitative data) - we counted the number of properties of different sizes and calculated their value using Zoopla house prices which we divided by the cost for the defence per 100 years
Pros:
Secondary data allowed us to see the value of properties each defence is protecting
Easily comparable since its numerical data
Cost defence for 100 years provides a balanced view for economic viability
Zoopla - up to date
Cons:
We have assumed that these conditions are static eg properties and price of defences are subject to change over 100 years
Overlooks factors such as tourism or ecosystem services
Explain the presentation of hypothesis 1 and state the pros and cons
Radar diagram - presented results of bipolar survey with a larger shape having a better coastal management method
Pros:
Easily, visually comparable
Can compare multiple criteria eg aesthetics, price, tourism
Problems easily identified
Cons:
Having too many on one diagram can be difficult to distinguish
There is no weighting of each factor as all are seen as equal eg safety may be more important than price
State the hypothesis, methods, presentation and conclusion for hypothesis 2
Hypothesis: The risk of flooding and erosion is highest in Torcross
Methods: Flood risk survey
No presentation
Conclusion: Torcross had the highest flood risk
Explain the method of hypothesis 2 and state the pros and cons
Flood risk survey (primary, quantitative) - calculated a score for the likelihood and severity of a flood using avg distances from the sea defence to properties, height of properties, flood severity using cost benefit etc
Pros:
Easily comparable as numerical data
Cons:
We estimated how high buildings were above sea level which changes with change and we visited locations at different times
Estimating distances from the sea to the buildings was tough since we couldn’t access gardens
Estimating was inaccurate
State the hypothesis, methods, presentation and conclusion for hypothesis 3
Hypothesis: Sea defences will have a negative environmental and social impact
Methods: Beach profiles, Lithology survey & field sketch of torcross
Presentation: Line graph showing beach profiles
Conclusions: Hallsands had the biggest cross sectional area & beach material was flint from marine transgression
Explain a method of hypothesis 3 and state the pros and cons
Beach profiling (primary, quantitative data) - to calculate cross sectional area giving an indication of beach size. We used clinometer and tape measures to measure gradient and distance.
Pros:
Cost-effective method
Systematic sampling used meaning we got lots of results in different parts of the beach
Cons:
We didn’t have ranging poles so measured eye to eye of 2 students similar in height, inaccuracy
We visited each location at different times and the tide changed giving skewed results
Explain a presentation of hypothesis 3 and state the pros and cons
Line graph showing beach profiles where the results were plotted as a line graph
Pros:
Allowed us to compare beach size giving us an indication of protection against erosion and how effective defences are
Cons:
Doesn’t show us what affects the beach, only how its affected
Explain another method of hypothesis 3 and state the pros and cons
Lithology map (secondary data) to see where sediment has come from
Pros:
Allowed us to identify which processes shaped the coastline eg most was flint from marine transgression
Cons:
May be outdated
Explain a different method of hypothesis 3 and state the pros and cons
Field sketch of Torcross
Pros:
Visualisation of the area gives an indication to the impact of coastal defences and their effectiveness
Cons:
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