coastal fieldwork Flashcards
Primary data
Your information collected through your fieldwork e.g. measuring something.
Secondary data
Information that someone else has collected; a source that you are referencing to. E.g. an old sketch of a beach profile
Qualitative
- Data that contains no numbers. E.g. photos
- The data that looks for trends and patterns
Quantative data
- Numerical data associated with measurements.
- Data used to find direct relationships e.g. scatter graphs.
Random sampling
- When you use a random number generator to choose sample sites to study beach profile.
- Reduces bias, so increases reliability
- However, the results may be very narrow or where data is difficult/unsafe to measure.
Systematic sampling
- Choosing your sampling sites at specific and normally have equal intervals. e.g. plotting data every 10m when investigating the gradient of the beach.
- You get a very wide range of results as you measure the entire area.
- However, the sites might be suboptimal to measure.
- Can skip important/key areas.
Stratified sampling
- Uses pre-existing knowledge
- You can choose the safest, most relevant sites by following the custom.
- However the results are bias, not very reliable.
Hypothesis: Longshore drift is travelling from West to East along the Cromer coastline.
- Sampling Method used: Systematic-record results every 10m.
- Measure the LHS and RHS of the groyne to see if the sediment has built up on one side of the gryone or the other.
- Equipment: 50metre tape measure and metre stick.
- This shows the effectiveness of the groyne holding the material and not letting it being affected by the longshore drift.
Hypothesis: (Beach profile) The pebble section of the beach has a higher profile than the sandy section
Method used: Systematic-collect data every 7m.
* Equipment: 50 metre tape measure, 2 ranging poles and a clinometer.
* This investigation was carried out in summer- more constructive waves, so less erosion at the end of the beach because inadequate power by the waves.
Hypothesis: The size of the sediment on Cromer beach gets larger and rounder towards the top of the beach, near the cliff.
Method used: Systematic- record data every 5m
Equipment- 50 metres tape measure, vernier calipers and a quadrat.
* The size of the sediment increased towards the cliff
* But the roundness decreased towards cliff due to lack of erosion and reach of the waves.