Evaluate the view that hard engineering approaches to coastal management produce more winners than losers. Flashcards
points
- Groynes
- Sea walls
- Rock armour
- Offshore breakwater
What is hard engineering?
Man-made structures built to control the flow of the sea and reduce flooding and erosion
Advantages of groynes
increases tourism by building up beaches
- Works with natural resources
- Creates back shore habitats
Disadvantages of groynes
Terminal groyne syndrome
- High costs
- Visually unattractive
Case study for groynes
Hornsea
- Businesses are protected + made because of the beach
- Creates backshore habitats
- Relatively cheap
- Terminal groyne syndrome means that people in Mappleton have had to relocated
- Erosion in Mappleton up to 4m/year
How fast is the Holderness coastline eroding
2m year
How do groynes work?
By trapping sediment during longshore drift
Advantages of sea walls
- Very effective
- Has a promenade for people to walk along
disadvantage of sea walls
Reflects wave energy rather than absorbing it
- Intrusive
- Expensive to build
Sea wall case study
Male
- 3.5m sea wall
- Stopped Indian Ocean tsunami for the most part from affecting Male
- Can walk next to the sea wall
Advantages of rock armour
- Relatively cheap
- Often used for fishing/sunbathing for tourists
Disadvantages of rock armour
- Doesn’t fit with geology of place
- Can be dangerous for people
Case study of rock armour
Explain this
Montrose Beach - NE Scotland
- Protects Montrose Village
- Doesn’t look too intrusive
- Collapsed in 2019, leading to health and safety fears
Advantages of offshore breakwater
- Effective protection
- Deposition encouraged at beach
Disadvantages of offshore breakwater
Can interfere with longshore drift
- Visually unattractive
- Potential navigation hazard
