Shaping the Landscape - Coastal Management Flashcards
what is the usual way of managing the coastline
through a combination of soft and hard engineering strategies
what are the 4 possible options for coastal management
do nothing
hold the line
retreat the line
advance the line
what does it mean to ‘do nothing’
you do nothing and allow gradual erosion
what does it mean to ‘hold the line’
use hard engineering (timber/rock groynes and concrete sea walls) to protect the coastline
or you can use a soft engineering and add extra sand to a beach to make it more effective at absorbing wave energy
what does it mean to ‘retreat the line’ (managed realignment)
where the shoreline is moved inland instead of holding the line with structural engineering
what does it mean to ‘advance the line’
build new coastal defences further out to sea
when do you ‘do nothing’
It is an option if the land has a lower value than the cost of building sea defences (which can be very expensive)
when do you ‘hold the line’
Seawalls are very expensive to make, therefore hard engineering is only used when the land is being protected is particularly valuable
benefits of ‘retreating the line’ (managed realignment)
In the long term, managed retreat may be more cost-effective than maintaining hard engineering defences.
benefits of ‘advancing the line’
advancing the line is the most expensive option but the advantage with that the new flat land can be used as an airport facility or as a port
what is hard engineering
building structures that prevent erosion and fix the coastline in place
what is soft engineering
encouraging natural deposition to take place along the coastline
give an example of soft engineering
beach nourishment
give 2 examples of hard engineering
sea walls
rock armour
benefits of rock armour
dissipates wave energy
less impact on sea wall
cheaper
lower maintenance
benefits of sea wall
reflects wave energy
keeps homes safe
disadvantages of rock armour
makes access to the beach difficult
can be dangerour
disadvantages of sea wall
the costs to maintain is expensive
it is ugly (doesn’t attract tourists)
what is the inter-tidal zone
the strip of coastline that lies between high tide and low tide (deposition takes place)
why is the inter-tidal zone important
it can store huge quantities of water which can help prevent flooding and erosion as it soaks up wave energy
what does managed realignment hope to achieve?
a sustainable, cost effective flood risk management
draw an annotated diagram to show managed realignment
