Herne bay - Fieldwork Flashcards
Herne Bay - What is the enquiry question
To what extent are costal defenses successful in herne bay
Herne Bay - risks
Stranger danger - stay in groups
Being run over - avoid roads
Slipping - wear appropriate footwear
Drowning - stay away from water
Herne Bay - why was the enquiry appropriate
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
Herne Bay - how is the location appropriate
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
Herne Bay - disadvantages of the location
Due to being on the sea the weather was very, windy and unpredictable, making it harder to conduct research
Herne Bay - quantitative data collection
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
Herne Bay - strengths of the bi polar survay
It was quick and easy
Allows us to make comparisons with quantitative data
Herne Bay - Weakness of bio - polar survey
Heavily biased
Categories could be misleading
Herne Bay - Qualitative data collection
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
Herne Bay - field diagram strengths
Visual aid
Has annotations (additional information)
Easy / quick
Herne Bay - field sketch weakness’
Observes only one moment (image will look different later in the day or year)
Fixed in what we can see
Doesnt represent different msterials
Herne Bay - Sediment angularity
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)
Herne Bay - sediment angularity sampling method
Random sampling / systematic sampling
Herne Bay - strengths of sediment angularity collection
Fives qualitative data
Minimal equipment (quick)
Herne Bay - sediment angularity strategy weakness’
Human bias to the rock / pebble chosen (can feel it).
Hard to categories each pebble
Herne Bay - Groyne effectiveness measurement
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)
Herne Bay - Groyne effectiveness measurement sampling technique
Systematic
Herne Bay - Groyne effectiveness measurement strengths of the stratagy
Easy comparison between groynes and sides
Relatively quick
Can easily be represented in a graph
Give qualitative data
Herne Bay - Groyne effectiveness measurement, strategy weakness’
Human error
Hard to measure when sediment covers the groyne
Tide effects groyne length and therefore the intervals
Herne Bay - How was the bi polar survey presented
On a radar graph
Herne Bay - bi polar survey data present tation
Radar graph
Herne Bay - bi-polar survey data presentation method
Radar graph
Herne Bay - what did the radar graph show
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
Herne Bay - why was a radar graph used
It gave a clear visual comparison of each coastal defense
It also kept the raw values, so each piece of data could be compared
Herne Bay - how was the sediment angularity representedb
On a scatter graph (distance from the sea on the x axis and index of angularity on the y)
Herne Bay - what did the rock angularity data show
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
Herne Bay - why was a scatter diagram used
It shows the correlation between two variables
(Distance from sea and rock angularity)
Herne Bay - how were the groyne measurements diplayed
On a dual bar chart
Distance from the sea was on the x axis and drop in groyne depth on the y
Herne Bay - groyne measurements, description of data
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
Herne Bay - why was a bar chart used
It allowed an easy visual comparison between the two groyne sides
This made it easier to observe trends in the data
Herne Bay - successes of the costal defenses
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
Herne Bay - failures of Costal defenses
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
Herne Bay - to what extent where the costal defenses
Somewhat successful
Many issues of erosion were prevented, but new ones were created
E.g land further up the beach was deprived of sediment
Herne Bay - strengths of data collection methods
Allow for easy comparison (especially bi-polar survey)
Equipment used was up to date
Random selection (rock angularity) had little bias
Herne Bay - weakness of data collection methods
Systematic sampling caused areas of the beach to be ignored
Small sample sizes
Human error
Herne Bay - strengths of the data collected
Primary data, so more reliable
Data is presented easily, so comparisons are easy
The groynes showed a distinct pattern (more sediment on the west)
Herne Bay - weakness’ of the data collected
Bias in the survey
Data can vary over time ( field sketches would look different)
Small sample size
Herne Bay - strengths of the conclusions made
Presents a general trend for most observations
Clear conclusions can be made
Clear judgements on the successes of 3 stratagies
Herne Bay - weakness’ of conclusions made
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
