Coasts Case Studies

Question 1

What are multi-use areas?

Answer 1

-selections of the coastline which provide economic, environmental and recreational activities

Question 2

How is Southampton coast used?

Answer 2

• crucial to British Industry
• 7% of all UK trade and 50% of UK’s trade with the Middle and Far East go through the Port of Southampton
• largest oil refinery in the UK that employs over 3000 people
• one of the largest chemical plants in Europe is another major employer
• recreational activities in local areas
• hosts the regional shopping centre of South England
• major university which is world renowned for research in the marine environment

Question 3

What is SMMA?

Answer 3

• Soufriere Marine Management Area
• divides each area into five zones, such as marine reserves, fishing priority area and recreational areas, to relieve conflict and the strain on the coast
• mandated to conserve the natural marine environment and ensure sustainable use and development of areas

Question 4

What conflict occurs on the coast?

Answer 4

• between yachts and fishers because of anchoring in fishing areas
• local community and hoteliers over access to beaches

Question 5

What happened at Holbeck Hall?

Answer 5

• north east coast of England
• the cliffs near Holbeck Hall were made of clay
• heavy rain came after a long dry period and so the clay became saturated as the water penetrated the clay
• water acted as lubricant, so the cliff started to slide
• the entire hotel ended up collapsing in a series of landslides
• slumping

Question 6

What is happening at Holderness Coast?

Answer 6

• east coast pf England
• one of Europe’s fastest eroding coastlines
• reasons why:
• strong prevailing winds
• cliffs made of soft boulder clay which erodes rapidly when saturated

Question 7

What happened at Wallsea, Essex?

Answer 7

-managed retreat, this seemed like a good idea because:
*there are few buildings in the area
*salt mashes provide a natural defence against flood tides and will be increasingly important as sea levels rise
*allowed floodwater to spread out and reduce the risk of flooding further inland
*existing farmland is of poor quality
*create 115 hectares of new mudflats and salt marshes , providing a natural habitat for wildlife
-effects:
• Farmers lost land
• Existing animals were killed or habitats destroyed
• Put buildings further in land at risk
-how the scheme was carried out:
*a new sea wall was built inland of the existing coastline
*an earth bund was built to separate fresh water from salt water, creating two separate environments
*artificial islands where created to provide nesting places for birds
*700,000 of mud was pumped onto the area to produce a salt marsh
*in 2006 the final landscaping took place and the old sea walls were breached, allowing the sea to flood the newly created landscape

Question 8

What is the Blue Plan?

Answer 8

-a report for a sustainable future for the Mediterranean -makes recommendations which aim to clean up the Mediterranean by 2020

Question 9

What are the aims of the Blue Plan?

Answer 9

• make 10% of all coastal areas protected environment (natural reserves)
• develop inland tourism to relieve pressure on the coast
• treat all waste water before it is pumped into the seas
• encourage the increasing use of water conservation methods
• introduce stricter rules to reduce pollution

Question 10

What are the pressures on the Mediterranean coastal areas?

Answer 10

• increasing levels of sea pollution, as industrial waste and untreated sewage are pumped into the sea
• water shortages because of increases in demand and climate change
• growing levels of air pollution from industry and transport
• damage to the environment by the development of hotels and holiday resorts

Question 11

What is integrated coastal management?

Answer 11

-management of the whole of an area or a system rather than just individual parts

Question 12

What is sustainable management?

Answer 12

-management that meets the needs of the present generation while preserving an area for future generations

Question 13

Why is the Port of Southampton used for trade?

Answer 13

• very deep harbour which is sheltered yet allows huge container ships to dock safely
• good rail links from Southampton to the rest of the UK for easy onward movement of imports

Question 14

Why are coral reefs important?

Answer 14

• valuable ecosystems
• possibility of many medicines being made with organisms from coral reefs
• provide immense value for human kind: fisheries, tourism, coastal protection and culture

Question 15

What are some places on Holderness Coast?

Answer 15

• Mappleton

- Hornsea

Question 16

What is happening in Mappleton?

Answer 16

• retreats 2m every year, one of the most vulnerable coastlines, caused by prevailing winds
• geology is a mixture of chalk and clay
• villages under threat
• in 1991 a scheme costing £2 million was introduced: rip rap along the base of cliff and 2 groynes
• no longer under threat because longshore drift has stopped

Question 17

What is happening in Hornsea?

Answer 17

• dependent on tourism
• highly residential area
• groynes and sea wall have been there since the 1900s
• more recently gabions were introduced
• they are trying to stop or prevent longshore drift

Question 18

What is the problem with Mappleton’s defence?

Answer 18

• groynes have increased rates of erosion further down the coast
• spit has gotten smaller since building the groynes as sand has travelled further up

Question 19

Why are salt marshes good for coastal defence?

Answer 19

-provide natural defence against flood tides and will be increasingly important as sea levels rise