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Investigate the contrasts between a named soft rock coast and a named
hard rock coast in terms of cliff profiles, cliff features and erosional land
forms.
Shape of cliffs High, steep and rugged May be high but are
(lumpy). less rugged (lumpy)
and less steep.
At the foot of the cliff A few boulders and Very few rocks, some
rocks which have fallen sand and mud.
from the cliff.
Compare concordant and discordant coasts (headlands and bays) and assess
the influence of rock type, joints and faults.
ROCK STRUCTURE = the way rock types are arranged. Usually in layers (strata).
DISCORDANT coastline –
different layers of rock at
right angles to the coast.
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CONCORDANT coastline – the rock type is the same along
the whole coastline.
The weaker rock here is limestone. The hard rock here is sandstone. The soft
rock erodes much faster than the hard rock creating bays. The more resistant
rock is left sticking out as headlands.
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b Marine processes, sub-aerial processes, mass movement and climate
change are also important.
The power of water/waves Rocks are hurled against the Two rocks crash into
forced into cracks and forcing cliff. They scour away like each other and break
the rocks apart sandpaper. down into smaller
pieces.
Some rocks are very resistant to erosion e.g. granite.
Some rocks are least resistant e.g. clays and will erode quickly.
Coastal Landforms…
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Caves, Arches, Stacks and Stumps
Waves
The wind blows across the sea. Friction between the wind and water creates
waves. The size of the waves depends on:
The strength of the wind
How long the wind blows for
The length of water the wind lows over (the fetch). This is
why Cornwall has the biggest waves in England.
CREST
TROUGH
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How waves break…
1. Out at sea the wind creates a wave shape.
2. Within a wave each water particle moves in a circular movement
and returns to the start. It is only energy and not the water itself
that is moving forward.
3. When the wave reaches shallow water the wave is distorted from a
circular shape to an ellipse shape until it becomes so top heavy that
it ‘breaks’.
4. it is now not only energy but also water that moves forwards.
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Coastal landforms of deposition…
Longshore Drift…
Sand Dunes…
Strong onshore winds blow the sand inshore.
Spits…
At a corner in
the coastline LSD
continues to deposit
out to sea forming a
neck of sand and
shingle.
The end is
curved round by the
wind and waves.
Salt marsh
forms in the shelter
of the spit.
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Tombolo… Bar…
A tombolo is where
the sediment joins
the mainland to an
island.
the people of Christchurch Bay argued that they needed sea defences.
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Explore the possible consequences of climate change on marine erosion and
deposition, including an increased frequency of storms and rising sea level.
With increasing sea levels due to thermal expansion (water particles expand as
they warm up) and the melting of the ice sheets. Low lying coastlines e.g.
Bangladesh, Essex, Pacific islands = at risk.
STORM SURGES:
The gravity of the moon creates tides. Twice a day we have high tides
which gives raised sea levels.
A few times a year we have ‘spring tides’ which are very high.
If a spring tide and low air pressure coincide = a STORM SURGE = huge
waves flooding the coast.
Global warming could make depressions more powerful and therefore
storm surges more common.
Higher sea levels and more storms would = faster erosion rates.
Current sea defences would be useless and we would have to spend a lot of
money on new ones.
*This is impacting Bangladesh increasingly, and locations such as Holderness will
be vulnerable to this.
5.2 Why does conflict occur on the coast and how can this be managed?
a Physical processes lead to coastal change and retreat, which threatens
people and property and generates conflicting views.
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Explore the conflicting views of how the case study coastal area should be
managed.
Holderness is being managed using rip rap, sea wall, groynes and managed
retreat. All of these methods are explained in the next section.
The Holderness coast is in the north east of England. This is one of the most
vulnerable coastlines in the world and it retreats at a rate of one to two metres
every year.
The problem is caused by:
Strong prevailing winds creating longshore drift that moves material south
along the coastline.
The cliffs are made of a soft boulder clay. It will therefore erode quickly,
especially when saturated.
The village of Mappleton, perched on a cliff top on the Holderness coast, has
approximately 50 properties. Due to the erosion of the cliffs, the village is
under threat.
In 1991, the decision was taken to protect Mappleton. A coastal management
scheme costing £2 million was introduced involving two types of hard
engineering - placing rock armour along the base of the cliff and building two
rock groynes.
Mappleton and the cliffs are no longer at great risk from erosion.
The rock groynes have stopped beach material being moved south from
Mappleton along the coast. However, this has increased erosion south of
Mappleton. Benefits in one area might have a negative effect on another.
The increased threat of sea level rise due to climate change, means that other
places will need to consider the sustainability of coastal defence strategies for
the future.
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b There is a range of coastal management options from traditional
hard engineering to more modern holistic approaches.
GROYNES
Trap and stop the longshore drift from moving along.
Builds up a nice big sandy beach. This is the best form of
protection against erosion – the wave moves around every
grain of sand, taking lots of energy out of the wave (energy is
dissipated).
Good for tourism
Has a negative impact down the coast which is starved
of sediment – here the beach becomes smaller and offers
less protection so erosion rates increase greatly. This = conflict.
Big boulders placed at the base of the cliff – dissipate the energy of the waves.
Looks natural.
Makes access to the beach difficult.
Can be hard to transport the boulders into position.
CONFLICT…
FOR HARD ENGINEERING AGAINST HARD ENGINEERING
Locals want hard engineering – it looks like Local taxpayers who don’t live at the
something serious is being done to protect coast.
them. Environmentalists – worry about habitats
Local businesses e.g. caravan parks, hotels. being destroyed.
Local politicians who want the residents People who live down coast negative
support. effects.
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Consider the costs and benefits of soft engineering, including beach
replenishment and more radical approaches including ‘do nothing’ and
‘strategic realignment’ linked to Integrated Coastal Zone Management
(ICZM).
Integrated Coastal Management managing the whole stretch of coast and not just
one place. Holistic management takes into account:
The needs of different groups of people
Economic costs and benefits
The environment of land and sea
Council choices…
Councils have 4 choices of how to manage the coast:
1. HOLD THE LINE: use defences to stop erosion and keep the coast where it is.
Expensive.
2. ADVANCE THE LINE: move the coast further into the sea. Very expensive.
3. STRATEGIC RETREAT: gradually let the coast erode and move
people/businesses away as necessary. Compensation has to be paid.
4. DO NOTHING: let nature take its course.
In some places defences are being abandoned and nature let take its course.
at the moment the government thinks it is too expensive to protect
farmland/isolated houses.
conflict
hard to convince people who’ve lived there all their lives that protecting their
property is not sustainable.
We don’t know the impact rising sea levels will have so planning new defences is
difficult.
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