o
o
o
o
o
Sea Walls at Withersea
Replaced old straight with with
new curved one.
Costs 6.3 million
Holding the line
Rock Armour at the base of wall
but very expensive and
unattractive
Problems: Much nosier, views
have been disrupted.
Beach Nourishment at Hornsea
o To create a wider beach to protect the
cliffs
o To add sediment from longshore drift
o Problem = a lot of sand can be
removed in a storm.
o Has to be renewed every year or so
o
o
o
o
o
Revetments at Easington
Protect the gas terminal
Large granite boulders stacked up
Absorbs energy
Very expensive
Sometimes unacctractive
Hard Strategies
HOLDERNESS
COAST
(management)
Soft Strategies
Wooden Groynes at Hornsea
o Protects the beach as stops
sediment from travelling.
o However starves MAPPLETON of
sediment.
o Waves attack the cliffs more
Rock Groynes at Mappleton
o Built 2 groynes cost 2 million
o Cliff face was re-graded
o Ripple Effect, Terminal Groyne
Syndrome
o Starves areas downstream
Beach Nourishment at Hornsea
o To create a wider beach to protect the
cliffs
o To add sediment from longshore drift
o Problem = a lot of sand can be
removed in a storm.
o Has to be renewed every year or so
Technique
Coastal
Manange
ment
Purpose
Strengths
Offshore
Breakwaters
o Deflect and reduce
wave energy before
reaching the shore.
o Can be built from
waste materials
o Like coral reefs
o Deflects waves onto
new paths.
o Less effective large
scale
Embankments
o Aim to prevent
flooding in low lying
areas
o
o
o
o
o Coastal squeeze
o Takes up a lot of
space
o Eroded easily
Gabions
o Small rocks held in
metal cages
o Cheap
o Easy
o Quite effective
o Small scale solution
o Metal cages can
erode
o Can moved in storms
Groynes
o Wood or stone
o Stop longshore drift
o Trap beach material
o Low cost
o Easily repaired
o Interferes with
distribution of sand,
may cause starved
areas downstream
Revetments
o Sloping ramps which
takes the force of the
waves
o Rock, wood, concrete
o Fairy effective
o Used to protect high
value property
o Don’t cope well in big
storms
Rock Armour
Rip Rap
o Large rocks placed at o Cheap
foot of sea wall or cliff. o Natural looking
o Absorbs wave energy o Effective
o May shift in storms
o Expensive
o Can be underscored
by backwash
Sea Walls
o Curve wall = reflect
energy
o Straight = absorb
energy
o Expensive to build +
maintain
o Can be undercut
Hard –
Simple
Quite cheap
Effective
Built of clay
Engineering
Management
Weaknesses
o Farily effective
o Protect property on
small scales
Cliff faces are
ABRASION /
CORRASION
HYDRAULIC
worn away by
Geology
o 2 types of rock: very soft
o Chalk
o Boulder Clay
o However provides good farming
particles carried
by waves.
Erosion
Why is erosion
Processes
such a problem?
ACTION
CORROSION
Sheer force of
Salts and other
waves loosens
rocks and cliffs
by forcing open
cracks.
acids in
seawater
HOLDERNESS
COAST
(background)
o
o
slowly dissolve
a cliff
Thames Estuary
o
o
o
o
Fetch
Amount of wave energy.
Holderness has small fetch.
But increased by 4 things:
Currents / Swell = The Atlantic fetch adds to
the north sea current which increases the
wave energy drastically. Creates destructive
waves.
Low pressure weather systems.
Deep sea floor along Holderness. Waves
reach cliff without being weakened.
Retreating from 1-10m
per year
Tide Levels Increasing
o Due to:
o Higher sea levels
o More storms
o Increasing amplitude ( tilting of UK south east is the worse.)
o Thames Barrage helped reduce risk of flooding, but Thames
Gateway wants more development along the shore of the
estuary
Longshore drift
o Boulder clay erodes to particles which are
easily transported out to sea, rather than
accumulate as sand.
o There is not enough sand to stop the waves
reaches the base of the cliff. They are narrow
with no friction.
o Sand that is produced is taken away by
longshore drift
o Remains of old buildings,
abandoned roads,
footpaths.
o Damage to existing coastal
defences
o Flood damage
o Cliff face features
o Cliff foot features eg.
Undercutting.
o Longshore drift
Holderness
Rapid erosion
Coast
(Weak geology)
Increased
Risks from erosion,
Fieldwork Evidence
flooding
for erosion
Thames
Tsunami
Increasing
Risks
2004 Asian
Tsunami
Local Research
o
o
o
o
Environmental Agency
Local University
Council planning
Old documents, pictures
to compare
o Satellite maps
o Newspaper
Flooding
THAMES
ESTUARY
HOLDERNESS
COAST
Estuary
1953 Storm Surge
SOUTHAMPTON WATERS
Solent/Southampton Waters
DORSET COAST
Coping
with the
pressure
- UK’S best natural harbour.
- Part of an estuary
- Goes inland
Advantages
- Sheltered from storms in English Channel.
- Deepwater channels for large ships.
- Around it broad flat land for development.
Pressures on Southampton Waters
- Growth of employment has lead to the expansion of suburbs and villages
close to the estuary.
Jurassic Coast
- UK’S first coastal World Heritage Site.
History and Culture
- Significant for its fishing villages and ports
- Thomas Hardy = books set in Dorset
Ecology
- Studland beach and sand dunes – high value environment
- Protected by SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest)
- Rare plants, insects, birds and reptiles (sand dunes)
Geology
- Growth is squeezed between New Forest Park and Southampton Waters
- Very varied rock types = chalk, clay, limestone
- Western edge is a large salt marsh, but also has a Fawley oil plant at the
- Durdle Door = limestone, coastal arch
same place. Industrial development.
- New housing, development creates problems with sewage disposal.
- Southampton is very important for leisure activities (sailing)
Fawley Oil Refinery
- Lulworth Cove
Case Study = Studland bay / Ainsdale Dunes
- 1.5 million people visit every year
- Important for wildlife, conservation, scientific purpose
- Largest Refinary in Uk
- Habitat of rare animals and plants
- 3000 workers, 2 million tonnes of crude oil per year
- Threats =
Economic Impacts
1. Salt marsh reduced in size. They contain huge numbers of marine
species and feeding grounds for migrating birds.
2. Liquid Waste. Can be very warm so affects the temp of the water. Some
species mature quicker. Change in food web. Eutrophication
3. Metal Pollution. Paint can stop barnacles stiking to rocks
4. Oil spills.1989 big oil spill. 20 tonnes downstream from Fawley. Salt
marsh badly affected.
- Non native species taking over grasses, poplar
- Visitors responsible for
With economic
In the UK and other more developed
benefits there
countries an environmental impact
can also be costs
assessment has to be undertaken. This
which are
aims to identify, protect and evaluate he
particularly
significant effects of the development on
environmental
the environment.
 Different land use conflicts
 Eg TNCs, oil transport
companies.
 There can be
conflicts with
wildlife and
Conflict on the Coast
costs.
people. It can
affect the looks
of the coastline.
Economic benefits vs Environmental costs
Environmenta
Coping
with
SOUTHAMPTON
WATERS
Industry on the
coast
Fawley Oil
l-impact
Benefits / Costs
of Coastal
the
pressure
Devlopment
Pressures:
Risk
Industry V.
Assesment
Pressure on coastal
Environment
Need protection:
DORSET COAST
Ecology
Jurassic Coast:
World Heritage
Site
Cost-benefit
ratio
environments
Tourism, Geology,
analysis
Coral reefs,
One way of
mangroves and
relieving pressure
salt marshes
is to create land
Studland Bay
Sand dunes
by draining
wetlands or by
land reclamation.
These can
They are at risk
protect the
from pollution and
coast from
human actions
flooding
 There is a wide diversity on
the coast with both
 This is the balanced
landscapes and ecosystems.
state of a system where
the inputs and outputs
 This can be
are the same.
shaped by the
land, weather
and climate,
Coastal Diversity
Dynamic Equilibrium
sea and human
activities
 It can be easily upset
by human activities
Competition
For Coasts
Why so
 Use to be a
BENIDORM
Popular?
small
fishing
village
 Average climate
 Areas of natural beauty
 Stands out for its hotel industry,
 Transport links
beaches and skyscrapers, built as a
 Food Supply
result of its tourist-oriented economy.
 Natural beauty = tourism