Physical landscapes in the UK - case studies & examples Flashcards
Example: What happened at Boscastle and what did it cause (worth of damage)?
Village of Boscastle in Cornwall devastated by flash flood → caused millions of pounds worth of damage
Example: When did the flash floods occur in Boscastle?
16th August 2004
Example: Why was Boscastle vulnerable to flash flooding (3 reasons)?
- Had no modern flood defences
- Village’s surrounded by step valleys sides + cleared of trees/vegetation → increases surface runoff, in heavy
rain = discharge increases quickly - Old bridge had low arch over very narrow river channel → made flood worse, trees & vehicles got trapped under
bridge forming a dam
Example: Give a fact about Boscastle’s local economy and how the flood affected it
- Village is popular tourist destination, 90% of local
economy relied on tourism - After 2004, number of tourists dropped = increasing demand for protection against future floods
Example: When was flood management scheme for Boscastle completed and what did include?
2008 - include both soft and hard engineering
Example: Name 6 changes that was in the flood management scheme for Boscastle
- Old bridge was replaced with new bridge with a higher arch
- River channel was deepened and widened
- A gauge was introduced to monitor water levels and improve flood prediction
- The river embankment was been strengthened
- A new flood wall was been built
- Dead trees and vegetation was removed to stop them from blocking the river channels during floods
- The car park was raised and left as an area that can flood, to cope with excess water
Example: Name 4 social issues of the scheme in Boscastle
- Residents’ lives were disrupted for years by rebuilding projects and construction of flood defences
- New defences = safer place to live
- However, will only protect against a 1 in 75 year flood → won’t protect flooding same size as in 2004 (defences needed for that flood would spoil character of village)
- Many residents don’t like new bridge → not keeping with character of village
Example: Name 2 environmental issues of the scheme in Boscastle
- Vegetation and river habitats in area are now continuously managed → biodiversity and river habitats
have been improved - New channel has been engineered to look natural and
function as normal river
Example: Name 2 economical issues of the scheme in Boscastle
- Homes and businesses are now less at risk of flooding → Less risk of expensive damage to property, loss of stocks and business and rising insurance costs
- Flood management scheme cost over £4 million - But scheme isn’t as good as it could be → some options were still considered too expensive
Example: Where does River Clyde flow through?
Scotland
Example: Where is River Clyde’s source located?
Southern Uplands region of Scotland
Example: Where does River Clyde flow?
River flows north-west through Motherwell and Glasgow
Example: Name the 6 features River Clyde has
- Estuary
Example: Where is the Holderness coast located?
North East England
Example: What is the erosion like in the Holderness coast?
Has one of the highest rates of coastal erosion in Europe
Example: What is erosion is causing the Holderness coast’s cliffs
To collapse
Example: Why does Holderness coast’s cliffs erode so easily?
Cliffs are made from soft, boulder clay
Example: Why is the Holderness coast retreating
Prevailing winds mean eroded material is moved south along coast by longshore drift (instead of staying where it came from). This exposes a new area of cliff to erosion
and causing coastline to retreat.
Example: How much land is lost to sea on the Holderness coast?
About 1.8m of land is lost to sea every year
Example: What is rate of erosion in Great Cowden?
Over 10m per year in recent years
Example: How much of the Holderness coastline is managed using hard engineering strategies?
11 km
Example: Why does the Holderness coastline need to be managed (using hard engineering strategies)?
- There’re towns and villages like Hornsea (8000+ population), Withernsea (6000+ population) & Mappleton where people live
- There’s important infrastructure like B1242 roads which links many towns and businesses along coast
- Gas terminal at Easington supplies 25% of UK’s gas and
is right on edge of cliff
Example: When was the coastline around Mappleton protected?
In 1991
Example: How much of the coastline around Mappleton was protected?
450m
Example: At what cost was the coastline around Mappleton protected?
At a cost of £2 million
Example: How much rocks were used at the coastline around Mappleton to protect it?
61,000+ tonnes of rocks
Example: Name the hard engineering used at the coastline around Mappleton
- Placing rock armour (granite boulders) along base of cliff to absorb power of waves
- Building two rock groaned to trap sand and creat a beach toabsorb power of waves
Example: Why was the coastal management used at the coastline around Mappleton successful?
Village of Mappleton and B1242 road are no longer at risk from erosion
Example: What was the problem about coastal management used at the coastline around Mappleton?
It caused conflict … rock groynes prevented sediment moving south along coast by longshore drift which increased erosion south of Mappleton
Example: What was the effect of increased erosion south of Mappleton? Name 5
- Loss of land to south of Mappleton
- Operation of coastguard and lifeboat services from Spurn Head being under threat due to erosion
- Loss of habitat for wildlife on Spurn Head
- In 1999, 1km stretch of coast near gas terminal at Easington having to be protected by rock armour
- Bays forming between protected areas and protected
areas becoming headlands
Example: What is the problem with protected areas becoming headlands in Mappleton?
Maintaining defences in protected areas is becoming more expensive and may cause conflict
