Coastal management

Question 1

Examples of hard engineering

Answer 1

Sea Walls
Rock Armour
Gabions
Groynes

Question 2

What is a sea wall?

Answer 2

Concrete walls placed at foot of cliff to prevent erosion. Curved to reflect energy back into sea.

Question 3

Advantages of sea walls

Answer 3

Effective at protecting base of cliff

Sea walls usually have promenades so people can walk along them

Question 4

Disadvantages of sea walls

Answer 4

Waves still powerful, break down and erode sea wall

Expensive- £2000 per metre

Question 5

What is rock armour?

Answer 5

Large boulders placed at foot of a cliff. Break waves and absorb energy

Question 6

Advantages of rock armour

Answer 6

Cheaper than a sea wall and easy to maintain

Can be used for fishing

Question 7

Disadvantages of rock armour

Answer 7

Look different to local geology, rock been imported from other areas
Rocks expensive to transport

Question 8

What are gabions?

Answer 8

Rocks held in mesh caves and placed in areas affected by erosion

Question 9

Advantages of gabions

Answer 9

Cheap- £100 per metre

Absorbs wave energy

Question 10

Disadvantages of gabions

Answer 10

Not very strong

Look unnatural

Question 11

What are groynes?

Answer 11

Wooden or rock structures built out at right angles into the sea

Question 12

Advantages of groynes

Answer 12

Builds a beach- tourism

Trap sediment being carried by longshore drift

Question 13

Disadvantages of groynes

Answer 13

By trapping sediment, starved beaches further down coastline, increasing rate of erosion

Look unattractive

Question 14

3 examples of soft engineering

Answer 14

Beach nourishment
Reprofiling
Dune nourishment

Question 15

What is beach nourishment?

Answer 15

Sand pumped onto existing beach to build it up

Question 16

Advantages of beach nourishment

Answer 16

Blends in with existing beach

Larger beaches appeal to tourists

Question 17

Disadvantages of beach nourishment

Answer 17

Needs to be constantly replaced

Sand has to be brought in from elsewhere

Question 18

What is reprofiling?

Answer 18

The sediment is redistributed from lower part of beach to upper part of beach

Question 19

Advantages of reprofiling

Answer 19

Cheap and simple

Reduces energy of waves

Question 20

Disadvantages of reprofiling

Answer 20

Only works when wave energy is low

Needs to be repeated constantly

Question 21

What is dune nourishment?

Answer 21

Marram grass planted in sand dunes stabilises the dunes and helps to trap sand to build them up

Question 22

Advantages of dune nourishment

Answer 22

Relatively cheap

Maintains natural look

Question 23

Disadvantages of dune nourishment

Answer 23

damaged by storm waves

areas zoned off from public, unpopular

Question 24

What is managed retreat?

Answer 24

Controlled flooding of low lying coastal areas. If area at high risk of erosion, managed retreat is option. Occurs where land is low value. Farm land

Question 25

Advantages of managed retreat

Answer 25

Cheap option compared to paying for sea defences Creates salt marsh can provide habitats for wildlife and natural defence against erosion and flooding Salt marches are diverse ecosystems supporting many species

Question 26

Disadvantages of managed retreat

Answer 26

Land is lost as reclaimed by sea | Landowners need to be compensated £5000-£10000

Question 27

Holderness coastline

Answer 27

Located on east coast of England. Fastest eroding coastline in Europe

Question 28

Reasons for management in Holder was

Answer 28

Rock type- cliff made from less-resistant boulder clay Naturally narrow beaches- beaches give less protection to coast as it doesn’t reduce power of waves Man-made structures- groynes have been installed to stop long shore drift. Narrows unprotected beaches elsewhere Powerful waves/ waves at Holderness travel long distances over North sea ( long fetch) increase in energy

Question 29

Management strategies in Holderness

Answer 29

Bridlington is protected by 4.7km long sea wall Hornsea protected by sea wall, groynes and rock armour Coastal management at Witherswa tries to make beach wider by using grounds, also uses seawall Mappleton protected by rock groynes Spurn head protected with groynes and rock armour

Question 30

Conflicts in Holderness

Answer 30

Increase in erosion at Great Cowden because groynes used in Mappleton. Led to farms being destroyed by erosion and loss of 100 chalets at Golden Sands Holiday Park Some people disagree with where sea defences are located, if it means land in their community unprotected Some sea defences negatively impact tourism and reduce amount of money coming into area