Cliff Recession and Management

Question 1

who are the central government players involved at Holderness and what do they do?

Answer 1

The EA, who are responisble for managment. There budget was cut in 2010

Question 2

What is the role of local government at Holderness?

Answer 2

They are responsible for managment

Question 3

What do different economic stakeholders want? (2)

Answer 3

1. The tourist industry want protection of high value land

2. Farmers want not as valuable farmland protected

Question 4

An example of an environmental stakeholder and what they want?

Answer 4

RSPB want to protect spurnhead so there’s a continuing flow of sand, mudflats of humber estuary

Question 5

What are the physical reasons for cliff recession at Holderness? (6)

Answer 5

1. Geology
2. Fetch
3. Weather system
4. Sea floor
5. Longshore drift
6. Subaerial processes

Question 6

What is most of the Holderness coast made and what id the effect of this?

Answer 6

glacial till, which is structually weak with little resistance to erosion

Question 7

What geology has resulted in the formation of Flamborough Head?

Answer 7

Chalk that surronds boulder clay

Question 8

What is the fetch like for Holderness?

Answer 8

Relativly small

Question 9

What adds to the energy of the waves at Holderness?

Answer 9

swell circulates around the UK and is added to by Atlantic fetch

Question 10

What produces strong winds and waves at Holderness?

Answer 10

Low pressure weather systems

Question 11

What is the sea floor like at Holderness and what does this mean?

Answer 11

The seafloor is relativly deep so waves reach cliffs without being weakened by friction

Question 12

Why does sediment not accumulate and create beaches at Holderness?

Answer 12

The beaches are mainly clay, which is easily transported out to sea in suspension rather than accumulating

Question 13

What are the beaches like which do exist at Holderness?

Answer 13

they are narrow and do not absorb wave energy

Question 14

Why types of subaerial processes are important at Holderness?

Answer 14

Mechanical and biological

Question 15

Why does slumping affect boulder clay cliffs at Holderness?

Answer 15

Wetting and drying of clay causes expansion and shrinkage of clay causes cracks, which rain can enter, making the cliff saturated and slide due to gravity

Question 16

Where are sea walls along Holderness?

Answer 16

Holiday resorts such as Hornsea and Withersea

Question 17

Where are the groynes at Holderness and what are the result of them?

Answer 17

Mappleton, causing terminal groyne syndrome down drift

Question 18

What is the strategy at Spurn head?

Answer 18

‘do nothing’ as the land is no longer worth saving

Question 19

What are the advantages of beach nourishment? (2)

Answer 19

1. beach looks natural

2. provides amenity for recreation and so supports local toursit industry

Question 20

What are the disavantages of beach nourishment? (3)

Answer 20

1. cost about £10 per m^2
2. has to be repeated frequently
3. sedinment dredged from offshore so sediment cell balance is changed and deepens the water with may create more destructive waves

Question 21

What are the advantages of cliff regarding? (3)

Answer 21

1. creates natural looking slopes
2. certainty and confidence to property owners and reduces risk of sudden loss of property
3. remain stable as slope is protected from marine erosion

Question 22

What are the disadvantages of cliff regarding? (4)

Answer 22

1. cost about £1 million
2. some land and property will be lost when the slope angle is changed
3. extreme natural conditions may overwhelm the changes
4. stablisation measures such as cliff drainage and planting also needed

Question 23

What are the advantages of cliff drainage? (2)

Answer 23

1. looks natural once completed

2. reduces mass movement, bringing confidence to locals

Question 24

What are the disadvantages of cliff drainage? (2)

Answer 24

1. difficult to implement along the whole cliff without disrupting the cohesion of the rock layers
2. will not prevent mass movement, only reduces it

Question 25

What are the advantages of dune stabilisation? (2)

Answer 25

1. looks natural and provides a natural ecosystem and recreational areea
2. effective barrier to higher sea levels and tides

Question 26

What are the disadvantages of dune stabilisation? (2)

Answer 26

1. may need to be fenced during works which reduces short term amenity value
2. powerful storms mean this only works for a short time

Question 27

What are the advantages of managed retreat? (2)

Answer 27

1. allows natural processes to take place

2. can extent current ecosystems

Question 28

What are the disadvantages of managed retreat? (3)

Answer 28

1. needs agreement from land and property owners
2. does not prevent land loss
3. currently no compensation in the UK for land and property loss