Coasts specific content

Question 1

When talking about the relationship between climate and weathering what are key things to note with the three types of weathering (biological, chemical, mechanical)?

Answer 1

• Mechanical is associated with areas that gave low rainfall and low temperatures - COLD
• Both Biological and chemical weathering increases with higher temperatures and higher annual rainfall - HOT

Question 2

Where is Holderness specifically located ?

Answer 2

• East Riding of Yorkshire

Question 3

When talking about contemporary sea level change due to tectonic activity what key case study can we use?

Answer 3

• Turakirae Head near Wellington in New Zealand

Question 4

What are some key local factors that increase flood risk on some low-lying estuarine coasts ( think about Bangladesh) ?

Answer 4

• Destruction of mangrove forests
• River straightening
• Groundwater abstraction causes subsidence and accelerates sinking

Question 5

When talking about storm surges and low-pressure systems what is a key fact to use?

Answer 5

• Falling in air pressure of 1 millibar leads to a 1 cm rise in local sea level

Question 6

For each of the main 3 storm surges in Bangladesh what was the year and the economic losses?

Answer 6

1970 = US$90million 
1991 = US$1.7billion
2007 = US$1.7billion

Question 7

What tells us that the process of corrosion has taken place at a given location?

Answer 7

• Visors

Question 8

What is key to know with sea level change and the role of climate change?

Answer 8

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) estimated increases in sea level of 20-50cm by 2100
• The current rate of rise is 2mm per year

Question 9

When are we most vulnerable to rotational slides?

Answer 9

• Where permeable strata (chalk) sits on top of impermeable strata (clay)

Question 10

What plays a key role in slumping?

Answer 10

• Water

Question 11

What are consequences for residents living near the Holderness coast?

Answer 11

-Eroding at 2m per year, so it will affect

• falling properties values, as the date of eventual loss approaces
• an inability to sell their property because the possibility of loss by erosion is to great
• the loss of their major asset, and the costs of getting a new home

Question 12

What three areas are vulnerable to coastal flood risk?

Answer 12

• Coastal plains
• estuaries such as river Thames
• River deltas, such as the Nile and Mississippi

Question 13

Why are areas of coastal flooding so densely populated?

Answer 13

• Coastlines are popular tourist attractions
• Deltas and estuaries are ideal locations for trade
• Deltas are especially fertile and ideal for farming

Question 14

Inwhat part of the world hasthere been post-isostatic rebound fo 300m (this links into emergent coasts)?

Answer 14

• North America and Northern Europe

Question 15

Why might over long periods of time a beach profile might change?

Answer 15

• Sediment supply from rivers are reduced for instance due to the contruction of a dam
• Inteference of sediment supply along the coast, often a result of coastal management in one place having effects on processes down the coast
• climate change - if globalwarming made UK climate stormier then destructive waves and ‘winter’ beaches would become more common

Question 16

There is a number of factors that could affect sea level rise what are some of them?

Answer 16

• Thermal expansion of oceans due to climate change
• Melting of mountain glaciers (Alps)
• Melting of ice sheets (Greenland)

Question 17

Give a key fact to know with environmental refugees?

Answer 17

• Around 22.5 million people have been displaced due to climate related events 2008-2016

Question 18

What is the wave frequency for constructive and destructive waves?

Answer 18

Constructive = 6-8 waves per minute

Destructuce waves = 13-15 waves per minute

Question 19

What is the pressure of when a wave hits into a cliff face(this links into the erosional process of hydraulic ation)?0

Answer 19

• 50kg/cm2

Question 20

What are the three ways in which Mangroves can reduce coastal flooding?

Answer 20

• They reduce the height of the waves
• Their roots trap sediment, raising the height of the coast
• They reduce storm surge levels - by 0.5m for every 1 km of forest that sea water has to pass through

Question 21

What are key things to remember when talking about consequences for communities?

Answer 21

• Loss from erosion is localised , costs are very specific to particular locations , Locations of high risk will have lower values. When talking about Land Values for England 2015 the £ per hectare of land for residential land for Great Yarmouth was £560,000 whereas for residential land for West Dorset it was £2.1million
• Rising sea levels is a factor, by 2050 it is estimated that 18 million people will be displaced in Bangladesh by rising sea levels
• It is estimated that an 20cm increase in sea level rise would cause US$ 1.4 million of economic damage in south-east Queensland alone

Question 22

What is a stronger sedimentary rock and what is a weak sedimentary rock?

Answer 22

• Strong sedimentary rock - Limestone (coastal recession of 1-2cm per year)
• Weak sedimentary rock - Sandstone (coastal recession of 10-100cm per year)

Question 23

What is a runnel and what does it link to?

Answer 23

Runnel = A small stream and is linked into winter type beaches and are located between two offshore ridges

Question 24

Give named examples of ;

• Bayhead beach
• Barrier beach
• Spit
• Cuspate foreland

Answer 24

• Bayhead beach - Lulworth cove
• Barrier beach - Chessil beach
• Spit - Spurn head
• Cuspate foreland - Dungeness , Kent

Question 25

What is the difference between a barrier beach and a bayhead beach ?

Answer 25

Bayhead beach is a beach between headlands and is low energy and mainly accretion because wave energy is refracted to headlands Waves also break 90* to the coastline

Barrier beach is a sand or shingle beach connecting two areas of land with shallow water lagoon behind

Question 26

Where can we see vegetation playing a key role in stabilising depositional landforms ?

Answer 26

• Hurst Castle spit

The spit is stabilised by vegetation and salt marshes

Question 27

What is a key fact to know with the monsoonal rainfall and how fast it occurs?

Answer 27

• In Asia about 70% of the average annual rainfall occurs during 100 days - July-September