Holderness Flashcards

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1
Q

How long is the Holderness coast?

A

61km

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2
Q

Where is the Holderness coastline found?

A

From Flamborough Head to Spurn Head

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3
Q

What are most of the cliffs made from at Holderness?

A

Till (boulder clay)

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4
Q

What is the coastline often exposed to?

A

Powerful, destructive waves

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5
Q

What are the four coastal processes operating in the area?

A

Erosion, mass movement, transportation and deposition

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6
Q

What is the rate of erosion at Great Cowden?

A

Over 10m/year in recent years

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7
Q

Why are the cliffs prone to mass movement?

A

Water makes the clay heavier and acts as a lubricant between particles, which makes it unstable.

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8
Q

What does the ocean current created by winds create?

A

Transportation of movement south by longshore drift

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9
Q

Where is most material deposited?

A

Humber River

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10
Q

How have headlands and wave-cut platforms formed?

A

To the north of the area, the boulder clay overlies chalk. The chalk is harder and less easily eroded, so it has formed a headland (Flamborough Head) and wave-cut platforms, such as those near Sewerby.

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11
Q

Why are the cliffs tiered in some locations?

A

Slumps have occurred and have not yet been eroded.

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12
Q

How has a pebble and sand beach formed south of Flamborough Head?

A

The area is sheltered from wind and waves.

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13
Q

How and where have sand dunes formed?

A

Around Spurn Head, material transported by the wind is deposited.

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14
Q

Which processes have allowed has the spit (Spurn Head) to form at the mouth of the Humber Estuary?

A

Erosion and longshore drift

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15
Q

What has formed on the landward side of the spit (Spurn Head)?

A

Mudflats and saltmarshes

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16
Q

How far has the Holderness coastline retreated over the past 2000 years?

A

4km

17
Q

How many villages have been lost to the sea?

A

30

18
Q

Why is there the potential for the loss of settlements and livelihoods?

A

The village of Skipsea is at risk and 80 000 metres squared of good quality farmland is lost each year on the Holderness coast, affecting farmers’ livelihoods.

19
Q

Why is there the potential for the loss of infrastructure?

A

The gas terminal at Easington is only 25m from the cliff edge.

20
Q

How much of the coastline is protected by hardengineering strategies?

A

11.4km of 61km

21
Q

How is Bridlington protected?

A

4.7km long sea wall and timber groynes

22
Q

How is Hornsea protected?

A

Concrete sea wall, timber groynes and riprap

23
Q

How is Mappleton protected?

A

Two rock groynes and 500m long revetment (built in 1991, cost £2 million)

24
Q

How is Withernsea protected?

A

Groynes, sea wall and riprap (which was placed in front of the wall in 1992 following severe storms)

25
Q

How is the Easington Gas Terminal protected?

A

By a revetment

26
Q

How is the eastern side of Spurn Head protected?

A

By groynes and riprap

27
Q

What is the advantage of groynes?

A

They trap sediment, increasing the width of the beach and protecting the local area from erosion.

28
Q

What is the disadvantage of groynes?

A

Increases the erosion of the cliffs down-drift as the material eroded from the beaches there isn’t replenished.

29
Q

What is the effect of trapped sediment on the Humber Estuary?

A

Sediment cannot reach the Humber Estuary and therefore the risk of flooding increases.

30
Q

How does bay formation cause the cost of maintaining defences on headlands to become too high?

A

The pressure on the headlands increases.

31
Q

What does the SMP for Holderness recommend for the next 50 years?

A

Hold the line (at Mappleton, Hornsea and Easington Gas Terminal, for example) and do nothing at less-populated stretches.

32
Q

Why is managed retreat a more sustainable option?

A

It would allow the coast to erode as normal without endangering businesses (although relocation and compensation isn’t always possible)

33
Q

What did Holderness Borough Council do in 1995 at Spurn Head?

A

Do nothing became the new strategy

34
Q

What are the advantages of doing nothing at Spurn Head?

A
  • saves money
  • allows the spit to function naturally
35
Q

What are the disadvantages of doing nothing at Spurn Head?

A
  • over-washing may damage marsh environment
  • coastguard station may be at risk
36
Q

What does the SMP recommend in regard to the revetment protecting Easington Gas Terminal?

A

Maintain the defences for as long as the gas terminal is operating.

37
Q

What are the disadvantages of maintaining the revetment defending Easington Gas Terminal?

A
  • defences only span 1km so the village of Easington isn’t protected
  • increased erosion rate at Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) to the south