Case study for high energy - Saltburn to Flamborough Head

Question 1

Salt burn to flamborough head

Answer 1

Rocky upland area
High wave energy
60 km long coastline

Question 2

Geology

Answer 2

Mainly of sandstone, shales and limestone formed during the Jurassic period as well as some Carboniferous

Question 3

Flamborough head

Answer 3

large chalk headland

The cliffs have till on top, a superficial deposit left behind by glaciers during the Devonian glacial period

Question 4

Energy

Answer 4

The dominant waves affecting this coastline are from the N and NW the fetch is greater than 1500 km
Most exposed areas are in the north 
Erosion rates vary along the coast
0.8m/year shale and clay
0.1m/year sandstone and limestone

Question 5

LSD

Answer 5

High energy inputs are also responsible for significant LSD from N to S
This is interrupted by headlands and sand and shingle then accumulate to form beaches in the bays

Question 6

Sediment sources

Answer 6

Nearshore - driven onshore as sea levels rose at the end of the last glacial period
Cliff erosion - Sandstone and chalk, boulder clay and gravel
River Esk enters at whitby - this supplies only limited sediment

Question 7

Beach survey

Answer 7

Salt burn has had a net increase of sediment of 9245 m3 between 2008 and 2011
File bay - erosion and accretion, influenced by winter storm systems

Question 8

Cliffs

Answer 8

Sediment rocks of this coastline are horizontally bedded - cliff profiles are vertical as a result

Question 9

Cliffs at Flamborough

Answer 9

Made of chalk
20-30m high
Overlying till is lowered by mass movement to an angle of about 40 degrees

Question 10

Cliffs at Robin Hods bay and salt burn

Answer 10

Cliffs are much higher
Stepped profile due to more varied geology
Steeper areas - sandstone and limestones
Gentler areas - Shales and clays

Question 11

Shore platforms

Answer 11

High - energy waves and active erosion mean that cliffs are eroding along the coastline
This leads to the formation of a rocky shore platform

Question 12

Robin hoods bay

Answer 12

Eroded in to lower lias shales
Typical angle of 1 degree
Maximum width of 500m
Formation of the platform (formed within the blast 6000 years and relict feture)

Question 13

Headlands and bays

Answer 13

Disconcordant coastline

Robin hoods bay
Eroded in to relatively weak shale
More resistant sandstone either side forming the headlands

Filey bay
Eroded in to weak kinneridge clay
More resistant limestone and chalk either side forming the headlands

Question 14

Beaches

Answer 14

Very few well developed beaches along the coastline
Low input of sediment from rivers and slow erosion of the resistant rocks
High energy waves also remove the sediment before it can accumulate
Considerable LSD, high tidal ange 4m, lack of estuarine environments means the coastline lacks spits