A-Level Geography: Coastal Landscapes and Change EQ4

Question 1

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

What are the risks of coastal flooding?

Answer 1

• Local factors
• Storm surges, cyclones, and depressions
• Climate change

Question 2

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How do local factors increase risk of flooding.

Answer 2

➔ Local factors such as height, degree of subsidence and vegetation of coasts can increase flood risks on low-lying and estuarine coasts. For instance, Kiribati is made of 33 atolls, all at risk of inundation as sea levels rise.

Question 3

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How do storm surges increase risk of flooding.

Answer 3

Storm surges, tropical cyclones and depressions can cause severe coastal flooding. This has social, economic and environmental implications

Question 4

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How does climate change increase risk of flooding.

Answer 4

Climate Change is likely to cause an increase in extreme weather, the frequency and magnitude of storms whilst contributing to sea level rise. However, the future is clouded by uncertainties as the strength of this context hazard is unknown.

Question 5

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How does subsidence of land occur?

Answer 5

Through tectonic activity or post-glacial adjustment.

Question 6

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How can storm surges be exacerbated?

Answer 6

1. Removal of natural vegetation
2. Subsidence
3. Global warming

Question 7

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How can storm surges be exacerbated by removal of vegetation?

Answer 7

Mangroves provide protection against extreme weather events like cyclones which are very common in the Bay of Bengal. However, due to pressure for land space, much mangrove forests are destroyed for tourism, local industry, or housing plains.

Question 8

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How can storm surges be exacerbated by climate change?

Answer 8

As the surface of oceans get warmer, it is estimated that the frequency and intensity of storms will increase, and so the severity of storm surges and flooding is also expected to increase.

Question 9

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

What are the consequences to communities from increased storm surges?

Answer 9

1. Some areas of the coast may have significantly reduced house and land prices as the area becomes known to be at significant risk.
2. This can lead to economic loss for homeowners and local coastal economies.
3. In the UK, many insurers don’t provide home insurance to people living along coastlines that are at extreme risk of erosion or storm surges.

Question 10

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How do increased storm surges impact the environment?

Answer 10

1. Storm surges damage the environment by destroying plant successions and damaging many coastal landforms.
2. Depositional landforms, due to their unconsolidated nature, are most likely to be destroyed.
3. Also, erosion may take place at accelerated rates or higher up along the cliff face, which can increase the risk of collapse.

Question 11

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

What are the economic consequences of a recession?

Answer 11

Loss of property in the form of homes, businesses and farmland, so relatively easy to quantify. The losses tend to be very localised and costs depend on the land’s use and location.

Question 12

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much can re-routing a two-lane road cost?

Answer 12

Re-rerouting a two lane road can cost between £150,000 and £250,000 per 100 m.

Question 13

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much did the collapse of the South Devon Main Line Railway in 2014?

Answer 13

The collapse of the section of coast supporting the South Devon Main Line Railway in February 2014 cost £35 million to repair, and businesses in the South West lost £60 million.

Question 14

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much can residential land vary?

Answer 14

Residential land can vary from £500,000 (North Yorkshire, cold climate, boulder clay) to £2.1 million per ha (Dorset, warm climate, Jurassic coast).

Question 15

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much does the Environment Agency estimate the number of properties that will be lost by 2035?

Answer 15

​The Environment Agency estimates 800 properties will be lost by 2035.

Question 16

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much does the Holderness coastline erode by per year?

Answer 16

The Holderness coastline erodes by 1.8m of land per year. This is due to the easily erodible rock types and naturally narrow beaches alongside the building of coastal defences which makes the beaches narrower and more easily erodible.

Question 17

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

What material is present in the Holderness Coast?

Answer 17

Boulder clay very soft and loosly bound. Consists of 72% mud, 27% sand, and 1% boulders left after a glacial retreat about 12000 years ago.

Question 18

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

Holderness Coast - In 2008, how many metres were lost in one storm?

Answer 18

26 metres

Question 19

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much does Holderness Coast Easington Gas supplies how much to England?

Answer 19

It supplies 25% of England’s gas.

Question 20

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much of agricultural land iis lost in a year in the Holderness?

Answer 20

80,000 square metres.

Question 21

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

In 1991, how much was spent on Mapleton’s sea defence?

Answer 21

In 1991, £1.9 million was spent on 60,000 tones of Granite from Norway to build a sea defence.

Question 22

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

Why did Mapleton in the Holderness receive coastal management?

Answer 22

In 1990, Mapleton was under threat of losing 30 houses and its main road, which would’ve threatened the lives and home of people, as well as surrounding towns. Because of this, responses in 1991, allowed for sea defenses to be built to protect the village and the B1242 main road from the intense sea erosion. With defences like rock groynes and huge granite boulders (rock armour) to absorb wave energy, all with the goal of holding the line for the key area for Holderness.

Question 23

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How high were the rates of erosion past the Mapleton groynes.

Answer 23

Rates of erosion past the Mapleton groynes, increased the rate from 1.7 to 3.3 at its highest between 1989-2005. Although coastal defences have a generally positive impact, the groynes in place restrict the sediment flows, and as a result, beaches in the south of Mapleton are experiencing more coastal erosion

Question 24

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

What are some of the consequences of coastal flooding in developed countries?

Answer 24

• A 1 m rise would flood:
• 116,000 homes causing property damage of US $72 billion..
• 5 power stations, 258 emergency service stations, 75 hospitals and 44 water and sewage plants.

Question 25

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much does the IPCC estimate the sea level will increase by?

Answer 25

The IPCC estimates a sea-level rise of 28-98 cm sea level rise by 2100, with the most likely rise being 55 cm

Question 26

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much economic damage will a 1m rise do to developing countries like the Philippines?

Answer 26

• A 1m rise would cause $6.5 billion of property damage.
• San Fernando in the north of Luzon is predicted to lose 123,000 square metres of beach with $95,000 p.a. tourism revenue.
• Fishing industry losses estimated at $168,000 p.a.

Question 27

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How much social damage will a 1m rise do to developing countries like the Philippines?

Answer 27

• A 1m rise would affect 2.3 million people and 62% of Manila in the south of Luzon Island
• Loss of livelihood - fishing, tourism.
• Loss of amenity value - San Fernando beach.
• Social costs are high as alternative employment is difficult to find in the formal sector.

Question 28

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

What are the places most at risk from sea-level rise as predicted by 2100?

Answer 28

The Maldives, Tuvalu, the Seychelles and Barbados.

Question 29

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

How high is Tuvalu?

Answer 29

Tuvalu’s highest point is 4.5 metres above sea level, and most land is only 1-2 m above.

Question 30

2B.10 Increasing risks of coastal recession and coastal flooding have serious consequences for affected communities.

What does New Zealand grant citizens of Tuvalu?

Answer 30

New Zealand grants residency to 75 Tuvalu citizens each year under the Pacific Access Category Ballot as rising sea levels decrease its land area.