Lesson 14- Holderness Coasts Case Study

Question 1

What factors influence the energy within the Holderness Coastline?

Answer 1

• Fetch
• Coriolis Force
• Storms
• Air masses
• Tides

Question 2

Energy inputs into Holderness-Fetch

Answer 2

• Fetch helps generate large waves - enables destructive waves to be created by prevailing north easterly winds across the North Sea.

Question 3

Energy inputs into the Holderness-Coriolis Force

Answer 3

• Coriolis Force due to the earths rotation directs waves at the coastline from the north east.

-This force can result in successive days of powerful destructive waves along the coastline which can remove metres of land at a time.

Question 4

Energy inputs into the Holderness-Storms

Answer 4

• Storm conditions within the North Sea, particularly during the winter months create destructive waves and high energy.

Question 5

Energy inputs into the Holderness-Air Masses

Answer 5

• Arctic maritime air pushes towards the UK, creates bigger storm waves (4m in height) , which erode the coastline due to high energy.

Question 6

Energy inputs into the Holderness-Tides

Answer 6

• Large tidal range up to 7 metres

-Scouring and abrasion the base of cliffs and sea bed causes cliff retreat of, on average 1.5m a year.

Question 7

What human factors affect the coastline?

Answer 7

• ICZM/SMP’s
• Hard/Soft engineering
• Climate change

Question 8

Factors contributing to a fast eroding coastline?

Answer 8

• Weather/Seasons
• Waves
• Geology

Question 9

Factors causing fast erodion at holderness-Weather/Seasons

Answer 9

• Winter strorms mean stronger waves
• Rain excacerbates mass movement
• Saturated clay cliffs suffer increased runoff leading to slumping

Question 10

Factors causing fast erodion at holderness-Waves

Answer 10

Waves come from the north east which is the direction of the largest fetch
-Destructive waves erode foot of the cliffs and longshore drift carries sediment southward

Question 11

Factors causing fast erodion at holderness-Geology

Answer 11

• Two main types found here are chalk and boulder clay casuses diffreing erosion rates
  -Flamborough head consists of wave cut platforms, caves archs stacks and stumps
  -Briddlington has boulder clay with steep cliffs

Question 12

What processes occur at the Holderness?

Answer 12

• Weathering
• Erosional
• Transportation
• Depositional

Question 13

Weathering at Hornsea

Answer 13

• Speeds up erosional landform formation
  -causes disintegtarion of rocks in situ
• Causes mass movement and makes cliffs collapse as boulder clay is more prone to slumping

Question 14

Erosion at Hornsea

Answer 14

• Creates the landforms for deposition at Flamborough head- wave-cut platforms
  -3% of sediment deposited at Spurn Point

Question 15

Transportation at Hornsea

Answer 15

• These transportation prcesses like longshore drift supply sediment for depositional landforms
  -Spurn Point Spit

Question 16

Depostional processes at Hornsea

Answer 16

• Creates mudlats and spits due to how ocean currents meet the Humber River depositing sediement.
• Creating beaches for tourism, hornsea and bridlington rely on this process for economy

Question 17

Positive impact of humans on deposition

Answer 17

• Humans have installed groynes at Hornsea, this has stopped sediment being transported by longshore drift building up beaches
• SMP in place protect by dispositional landforms and ensures protection under 2100 at the earliest

Question 18

Negative impact of humans on deposition

Answer 18

• Groynes have had a negative impact (terminal groyne syndrome) further down the coast by starving the beach with sediment.
  -Beaches Spurn Point Spit
• Climate is casusing increased sea levels and more effective waves causing more erosion of Spurn Point

Question 19

Why does the Holderness need managing?

Answer 19

• Fastest eroding coastline in europe at 2cm per year
• Made of soft boulder clay and chalk
• Longshore drift is the dominant process
• Narrow beaches here which reduces protection

Question 20

Why is the whole of the holderness not protected?

Answer 20

• Only 2300km of the 17,000km coastline is here
• More than 200 houses are at risk of being lost to coastal erosion in the next 20 years

Question 21

What are the 4 managing options?

Answer 21

• Hold the line
• Advance the line
• Managed realignment
• Do nothing

Question 22

What is the SMP?

Answer 22

• Shoreline management plan is written about each sediment cell
  -based on priciples of sediment cells

-Hold The Line at Withernsea
-No Active Intervention between Hollym & Dimilington
-Hold The Line at Easington
-Managed Retreat from Kilnsea to Spurn Point

Question 23

What is the ICZM?

Answer 23

• Where sections of the coast are managed together
  -they recognise that sediment cells interact with each other and that changes in one area of the coast impact another

Question 24

How is Hornsea managed?

Answer 24

• Hornsea-sea wall+groynes=5.2 mil
• Withernsea-groynes,recurved sea wall, beach nourishment=6.3 mil
• Spurn Point-No intervention
• Humber estuary-managed retreat as 500,000 people risk of flooding due to being 2m under sea level

Question 25

How will climate change impact Holderness?

Answer 25

• Increased erosion rates at Holderness
• Increased sea levels-flood risk
• More extreme weather-low pressure systems create destructive waves
• Salty water-Salination of water in Humber Estuary
• Erosion of depositional landfroms (beaches)