Costal Zone Case Studies

Question 1

Cliff collapse
Lyme Regis
May 2008

How can coats be managed?

Answer 1

New sea wall and promenade built
Protect the shore and stabilise the land
Work cost £17 million

Benefits: bigger beach, new promenade, re-landscaped public gardens
Problems: noisy at the time and expensive scheme

Question 2

Salt Marshes
Key haven Marshes
Sits behind hurst spit

Species?

Answer 2

Cordgrass - pioneer species tolerant of the saltwater
Oystercatcher - feeds and nests there
Wold spider - clings onto cordgrass waiting for low tide and food

Question 3

How does man threaten the salt marshes at Keyhaven?

Answer 3

Under threat from groynes to the West
Starving hurst spit which is there to protect the marshes by sheltering.
Caused problems for the ecosystem -dying back of some plants and the overall health is threatened

Question 4

What are the management strategies to protect the salt marsh?

Answer 4

300,000 cubic metres of shingle added to the spit and 550m of Rock armour the the west side -£5 million

Marsh is (SSSI) and part of the nature reserve - aim to pretext biodiversity and plants so it’s monitored and managed eg. Visitors have restricted access

Question 5

Rising sea levels
Maldives

Impacts of sea level rise?
Political 
Social 
Economic
Environmental

Answer 5

P: gov will have to decide where to spend the money 
Conflict may increase as a result 
S: communities could break up 
380,000 people left homeless-refugees
Uninhabitable for humans and animals 
E: economy will fall apart
Threaten beach resorts 
Tourism will go 
People loose there jobs and livelihood
E: coral reefs damaged due to warmer sea temperatures 
Preventing bio-diversity of species
Moving plants and animals problematic