CASE STUDY: high energy coastline (Holderness)

Question 1

Background info

Answer 1

Holderness coastline located in Yorkshire. Extends 61km from Flamborough to Spurn Point

Question 2

Fact + av. annual rate of erosion

Answer 2

Holderness coastline is one of Europe’s fastest eroding coastlines w annual rate of erosion at approx. 2m/year

Question 3

How much of Holderness has been lost to erosion since Roman times?

Answer 3

Approx. 3 miles of land has been lost since Roman times including 23 towns/villages

Question 4

What comes from the North Sea?

Answer 4

Strong destructive wave action

Question 5

How far has Ringborough Farm been eroded between 1939 and 2010?

Answer 5

Has gone from 145 acres (1939) to 70 acres (2010)

Question 6

What is the geological make up of the Holderness Coastline (North York Moors + Flamborough Head)?

Answer 6

• North York Moors rise up to 400m above sea level + is comprised mainly of shale/limestone
• Flamborough Head is large chalk headland topped w glacial till left behind from most recent glacial period

Question 7

What is glacial till?

Answer 7

unsorted material deposited directly by glacial ice

Question 8

What is the fetch of the dominant waves coming from the north and northwest?

Answer 8

fetch is 1500km+

Question 9

What was the wave height of the dominant waves coming from the north and northwest?

Answer 9

Wave height was measured to exceed 4m

Question 10

What are the av. rates of erosion of weak rocks and resistant rocks?

Answer 10

Rates of erosion on av:

• weak rocks (clay/shale), around 0.8m/year
• resistant rocks (limestone/sandstone), less than 0.1m/year

Question 11

Describe the cliffs at Flamborough Head

Answer 11

Cliffs made of chalk (verystrong), so high + steep (typically 20-30m high), however glacial till has been lowered by mass movement, creating a gradient of roughly 40 degrees

Question 12

Describe the cliffs at Saltburn

Answer 12

Cliffs are much taller but are ‘stepped’ w a lower gradient, due to varying rock types

Question 13

How can the variation in rock type be described and how has it created bays and headlands?

Answer 13

Partly discordant coastline

Question 14

Bays and headlands formed at Saltburn

Answer 14

Weak shales have been eroded to form the bay, whilst resistant sandstone lies either side to form two headlands (Ravenscar and Ness Point)

Question 15

Bays and headlands formed at Flamborough Head

Answer 15

formed of chalk, w bays of clay either side

Question 16

What landforms have formed on headlands in Flamborough Head?

Answer 16

at Selwick’s Bay on one side of Flamborough Head, a joint in the chalk has been enlarged. A stack called Green Stack’s Pinnacle have been formed by this process at Flamborough Head. Also, several blowholes are present at Selwick’s Bay.

Question 17

Why is coastal management needed at Hornsea?

Answer 17

Up to 3m of erosion/year bc cliffs are formed from weak boulder clay. Management protects tourist features such as arcades + hotels + creates a sandy beach

Question 18

What coastal management strategies have been implemented at Hornsea?

Answer 18

• Sea walls

- Wooden Groynes repaired + built at a cost of £5.2m

Question 19

What are the negative consequences of the coastal management strategies at Hornsea?

Answer 19

• Tourism leads to congestion in summer, negatively impacting on locals
• The wall is unattractive

Question 20

Why is coastal management needed at Mappleton? (Damages)

Answer 20

• There was £2.9 million of damage a year before the management was put in place.
• Sandy beach is protected +
• also protects the town and the B1242 motorway

Question 21

What coastal management strategies have been implemented at Mappleton?

Answer 21

Rock armour at a cost of £2 million

Question 22

Why is coastal management needed at Eastington?

Answer 22

There is a Gas Terminal at Eastington + 2.25% of all UK gas comes from this station

Question 23

What coastal management strategies have been implemented at Eastington?

Answer 23

Rock armour at a cost of £4.5 million

Question 24

What are the negative consequences of the coastal management strategies implemented at Eastington?

Answer 24

• Rock armour protects the gas from erosion, but not the village
• Rock armour is preventing material reaching Sites of Specific Scientific Interest (SSSI) further South, such as sand dunes