Herne bay - Fieldwork

Question 1

Herne Bay - What is the enquiry question

Answer 1

To what extent are costal defenses successful in herne bay

Question 2

Herne Bay - risks

Answer 2

Stranger danger - stay in groups
Being run over - avoid roads
Slipping - wear appropriate footwear
Drowning - stay away from water

Question 3

Herne Bay - why was the enquiry appropriate

Answer 3

It follows the topic of coasts and rivers (which we wre studdying for our GCSES), allowing us to identify several coastal management strategies and view their advantages / disadvantages

Question 4

Herne Bay - how is the location appropriate

Answer 4

It is easily accessible, only a short bus journey from bexley (1hour)

It has many coastal defenses such as the breakwater, groins and sea walls

Question 5

Herne Bay - disadvantages of the location

Answer 5

Due to being on the sea the weather was very, windy and unpredictable, making it harder to conduct research

Question 6

Herne Bay - quantitative data collection

Answer 6

We completed a bio - polar survey of costal management strategies, ranking them between -2 and 2 in a number of categories

We then totaled the score and could compare the statagies

The categories we used were
Safety
Attractiveness
Effectiveness (at preventing erosion)
Acess to the beach
Disturbance of natural habitats in construction

We looked at the
Breakwater
Groynes
Sea wall

Question 7

Herne Bay - strengths of the bi polar survay

Answer 7

It was quick and easy
Allows us to make comparisons with quantitative data

Question 8

Herne Bay - Weakness of bio - polar survey

Answer 8

Heavily biased
Categories could be misleading

Question 9

Herne Bay - Qualitative data collection

Answer 9

We drew field sketches of the breakwater and groynes (observed a scene drew it and labled it)

Groynes drawing included a sea wall and rock armour

Question 10

Herne Bay - field diagram strengths

Answer 10

Visual aid
Has annotations (additional information)
Easy / quick

Question 11

Herne Bay - field sketch weakness’

Answer 11

Observes only one moment (image will look different later in the day or year)
Fixed in what we can see
Doesnt represent different msterials

Question 12

Herne Bay - Sediment angularity

Answer 12

We used a tape measure to form a transect
Along the transect at 5 regular intervals we closed our eyes and selected 3 stones

Then we ranked then to powers index of roundness (class 1 - very angular, to class-6 well rounded)

Question 13

Herne Bay - sediment angularity sampling method

Answer 13

Random sampling / systematic sampling

Question 14

Herne Bay - strengths of sediment angularity collection

Answer 14

Fives qualitative data
Minimal equipment (quick)

Question 15

Herne Bay - sediment angularity strategy weakness’

Answer 15

Human bias to the rock / pebble chosen (can feel it).
Hard to categories each pebble

Question 16

Herne Bay - Groyne effectiveness measurement

Answer 16

We measured the lengths of the groynes and split this into 5 equal sections.

At these equal sections we used a meter stick to measure the distance from the top of the groyne to the beach (on both sides of the groyne)

Question 17

Herne Bay - Groyne effectiveness measurement sampling technique

Answer 17

Systematic

Question 18

Herne Bay - Groyne effectiveness measurement strengths of the stratagy

Answer 18

Easy comparison between groynes and sides
Relatively quick
Can easily be represented in a graph

Give qualitative data

Question 19

Herne Bay - Groyne effectiveness measurement, strategy weakness’

Answer 19

Human error
Hard to measure when sediment covers the groyne
Tide effects groyne length and therefore the intervals

Question 20

Herne Bay - How was the bi polar survey presented

Answer 20

On a radar graph

Question 21

Herne Bay - bi polar survey data present tation

Answer 21

Radar graph

Question 22

Herne Bay - bi-polar survey data presentation method

Answer 22

Radar graph

Question 23

Herne Bay - what did the radar graph show

Answer 23

It clearly showed that the breakwater was the most effective defense for the chosen categories, as it was attractive, prevented erosion and didn’t limit access to the beach

The sea wall was the least attractive as although it was the best a stopping erosion is prevented access to the beach and was unattractive

Question 24

Herne Bay - why was a radar graph used

Answer 24

It gave a clear visual comparison of each coastal defense
It also kept the raw values, so each piece of data could be compared

Question 25

Herne Bay - how was the sediment angularity representedb

Answer 25

On a scatter graph (distance from the sea on the x axis and index of angularity on the y)

Question 26

Herne Bay - what did the rock angularity data show

Answer 26

Lower down the beach there is a mixture of smooth and angular rocks

At the top of the beach all the rocks were category sixes, showing the more eroded rocks are found further away from the coast line

Question 27

Herne Bay - why was a scatter diagram used

Answer 27

It shows the correlation between two variables
(Distance from sea and rock angularity)

Question 28

Herne Bay - how were the groyne measurements diplayed

Answer 28

On a dual bar chart
Distance from the sea was on the x axis and drop in groyne depth on the y

Question 29

Herne Bay - groyne measurements, description of data

Answer 29

For every measurement from the sea, the west side had a greater drop in the east side of the groyne

At the furthest measurements from the sea, the drop on the west side was sometimes 0, or higher than the groyne height

Question 30

Herne Bay - why was a bar chart used

Answer 30

It allowed an easy visual comparison between the two groyne sides
This made it easier to observe trends in the data

Question 31

Herne Bay - successes of the costal defenses

Answer 31

Groynes trapped sediment due to long shore drift (occurring in a westward direction)
Groynes helped create a wider beach
No signs of erosion behind seawalls or the breakwater
Town center was protected
New habitats were created

Question 32

Herne Bay - failures of Costal defenses

Answer 32

Groynes deprived areas further up the beach from having sediment

Groynes broke up the beach making it harder to navigate

Habitats were disturbed in the construction and repair of defenses

Sediment spilling over the top of groynes

Expensive breakwater

Question 33

Herne Bay - to what extent where the costal defenses

Answer 33

Somewhat successful

Many issues of erosion were prevented, but new ones were created

E.g land further up the beach was deprived of sediment

Question 34

Herne Bay - strengths of data collection methods

Answer 34

Allow for easy comparison (especially bi-polar survey)
Equipment used was up to date
Random selection (rock angularity) had little bias

Question 35

Herne Bay - weakness of data collection methods

Answer 35

Systematic sampling caused areas of the beach to be ignored
Small sample sizes
Human error

Question 36

Herne Bay - strengths of the data collected

Answer 36

Primary data, so more reliable

Data is presented easily, so comparisons are easy

The groynes showed a distinct pattern (more sediment on the west)

Question 37

Herne Bay - weakness’ of the data collected

Answer 37

Bias in the survey
Data can vary over time ( field sketches would look different)

Small sample size

Question 38

Herne Bay - strengths of the conclusions made

Answer 38

Presents a general trend for most observations

Clear conclusions can be made

Clear judgements on the successes of 3 stratagies

Question 39

Herne Bay - weakness’ of conclusions made

Answer 39

Only done on a small area of the beach
Bias
Sediment angularity doesnt show a clear pattern
The effect of strategies could change over time