chapter 11 and 12- coasts

Question 1

pros of hard engineering

Answer 1

-shows something is being done to help at risk people- reassuring
one off cost can protect the coast for decades

Question 2

cons of hard engineering

Answer 2

high cost
ongoing maintenance costs
even very carefully designed engineering solutions can be prone to failure
visually unattractive
does not consider needs of coastal ecosystems.
defences in one place can worsen consequences in another place.

Question 3

groynes

Answer 3

vertical stone or timber fences
perpendicular to coast
spread out across beach

lead to beach accretion and deposition
prevents longshore drift- starves beaches further down the coast of sediment- increasing erosion rates

Question 4

sea walls

Answer 4

concrete
steel reinforcements
deep built foundations
modern sea walls dissipate rather than refract wave energy
destroy cliff face and foreshore environment
if reflective, reduces beach volume