Coasts Case Study Flashcards
Where is Holderness Coastline?
East Yorkshire
Outline the topography of Holderness (length and composition)
61 km long (Flamborough to Spurn Head)
Most cliffs are made of till (‘boulder clay’)
North sea = destructive waves during storms
Outline the erosion occurring on Holderness
Bolder clay (soft) -> eroded by wave action
Great Cowden = 10m/year
Outline the transportation occurring on Holderness
Prevailing winds (NE) transports mats southward. Winds also make ocean current = longshore drift
Outline the deposition occurring on Holderness
Ocean current meets outflow of Humber River -> turbulence = deposition
Outline the headlands and wave-cut platforms on Holderness
North - boulder clay overlies chalk (eroded less) = headland
Sewerby wave-cut platform - stacks, stumps arches
Outline the beaches on Holderness
Wide sand & pebble beaches south of Flamborough Head
Outline the Spit from Holderness
Erosion + LSD = Recurved spit at mouth of Humber Estuary
Mudflats + saltmarshes
Outline how much erosion has occurred to Holderness over the past 200 years
Retreated by 4km - 30 villages lost
Outline 2 impacts of the Holderness erosion
- Skipsea at risk & 80,000m^2 farmland lost each year
- Gas terminal Easington 25m from cliff edge
How much of Holderness coastline is protected by hard engineering
11.4km of the 61km coastline
Outline 3 hard engineering management schemes that have been used in Holderness
- 2 rock groynes + 500m revetment at Mappleton 1991
£2mil protect village & B1242 rd - Bridlington protected by 4.7km long sea wall
- Easington Gas Terminal protected by revetment
Outline 3 reasons why the hard engineering is unstable
- Groynes trap sediment - increases cliff erosion down-drift (Cowden Farm, south Mappleton risk of falling)
- Less sediment deposit into Humber Estuary = risk of flooding
- Bays form between protected areas -> increased wave action on headlands = increased sea defence cost
Outline 2 other strategies for the protection of Holderness
- 1995 - Council ‘do nothing’ strategy for spurn head - saves money + natural spit function
- Managed realignment - move businesses (caravan parks, etc) further back. Allows erosion but not always possible land to move to
Outline the location and topography of Odisha
South-east coast of India
Straight coastline (480km), few natural harbours with bulk of state population
Outline the prominent depositional landforms in Odisha
6 major deltas - known as ‘Hexadeltaic region’
Outline the vegetation in Odisha
Wide range of marine flora & fauna (+ 1435km^2 of mangrove forest)
Outline Chilika Lake in Odisha
Brackish salty lagoon with birdlife
Diluted in monsoon season from freshwater rainfall
-> larger
Temporary store in H2O cycle important for coastal system
Outline 3 opportunities for human occupation and development in Odisha
- Large fish stocks - helps local employment (e.g: shrimps)
- Wildlife sanctuary = tourism boost (e.g: Chilika Lake Bird Sanctuary >150 bird species)
- 35% coast stretch has sediment minerals & heavy metal deposits
Outline 2 risks of human occupation and development in Odisha
- 2011 - Assessment of Shoreline Change - 36.8% eroding & 14.4% stable from human & natural processes
- Hard engineering -> shifts erosion downdrift south coast
Outline the impact of the mangrove vegetation in Odisha from the 2011 Assessment of Shoreline Change
> 50% higher accretion in areas of mangroves (e.g: Bhadrak and Kendrapara)
When and where did Cyclone Phailin occur in Odisha?
October 2013 Odisha coast near Gopalpur
Outline the death toll and damages of Cyclone Phailin
44 Deaths
>1mil evacuated
500K ha crops destroyed
Cost = US$700K
How did the Odisha population adapt to Cyclone Phailin?
Odisha Cyclone 1999 - >100k deaths
New strategies = relief supplies ahead of storm, practiced evacuations, broadcasted warnings = lower death No
