Holderness Case Study

Question 1

Location of the Holderness coastline

Answer 1

North East of England

Question 2

Outline of the Holderness coast

Answer 2

The north of the coastline starts at Flamborough Head and ends at Spurn Point.

Question 3

Predominant geology

Answer 3

Boulder clay (very weak, crumbling)

Question 4

What are the three main changes that have happened along the coastline?

Answer 4

The coastline has retreated
Spurn point has become more defined with more recurved ends visible.
There have been more deposits behind the spit to make a salt marsh.

Question 5

What are is the rate of the erosion at Hornsea?

Answer 5

3m of erosion per year

Question 6

What are the management strategies at Hornsea?

Answer 6

Sea Wall
Wooden Groynes repaired and built at a cost of £5.2m

Question 7

What are the pitfalls of management in Hornsea?

Answer 7

Groynes prevent material reaching popular seaside towns to the South.
Tourism leads to congestion in the summer, negatively impacting on locals.
The wall is an unattractive feature

Question 8

What is are the risks at Mappleton?

Answer 8

There was £2.9 million of damage a year before the management was put in place.
It produced a sandy beach and alos protects the town, a Grade 2 listed church and the B1242

Question 9

What is the strategy at the Mappleton?

Answer 9

Rock Armour at a cost of £2 million

Question 10

What is a limitation of a strategy in Mappleton?

Answer 10

South of Mappleton, the rate of erosion has increased significantly.

Question 11

What is an important issue at Easington?

Answer 11

There is a Gas Terminal at Easington and 2.25% of all UK gas comes through this station.

Question 12

What is a management strategy at Easington?

Answer 12

Rock Armour at a cost of £4.5m

Question 13

What are the limitations of implemented strategies at Easington?

Answer 13

The scheme protects the gas terminal, not the village.
It is preventing material reaching Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) further South such as sand dunes.

Question 14

What features and processes make Holderness coastline so distinctive?

Answer 14

the impressive chalk headland and cliffs near Flamborough
• the retreating clay cliffs of the Holderness Bay
• the 6km spit at Spurn Point

Question 15

What are the advantages of groynes in Hornsea?

Answer 15

Groynes seem locally effective, they are relatively low cost, they are acceptable visually and development of low-lying land has now been possible

Question 16

What are the disadvantages of groynes in the Hornsea?

Answer 16

this trapping of sand may have caused scour at Mappleton. Groynes rarely work on their own, maintenance is continual and groynes do not hold mud.

Question 17

What are the erosion rates in Mappleton (distance from the sea)?

Answer 17

Erosion rates at Mappleton have long been recorded, and in 1786 the village was 3.5 kms from the sea. By 1988 the sea was on its doorstep

Question 18

What are features of the scheme implemented in Mappleton?

Answer 18

two rock groynes designed to trap beach sediment, a rock revetment to prevent erosion of the cliffs

Question 19

What is the cost of scheme implemented at Mappleton?

Answer 19

In 1991 a scheme was implemented at a cost of £2.1 million supported by EU funding.

Question 20

What is the main disadvantage of the scheme implemented in Mappleton?

Answer 20

More worrying is the very rapid erosion of beaches, cliffs and farm buildings at Great Cowden 3 km to the south which may be linked to Mappleton’s growing beach

Question 21

What is the state of the coastline in Mappleton in 2002?

Answer 21

The houses and the beach looks secure, but the re- garded cliffs behind are showing early signs of slumping. Beyond the second groyne the large rocks are being undermined and the cliff face below the car park has begun to erode (terminal scour).

Question 22

Why is Holderness awarded a title of the most rapidly eroding coastline in Europe?

Answer 22

The combination of clay geology and a high-energy environment

Question 23

What is an average rate of erosion along the Holderness coastline?

Answer 23

2 meters per year