Aiming

for
THE COASTAL ZONE
(The narrow contact zone between land and sea.)
 Weathering 1.

There are 2 main types of Freeze Thaw

Weathering Weathering 2.
Occurs when temp hovers
around 0C
1. Water seeps into rock
cracks. 3.
1. Mechanical:
2. The water expands when
it freezes putting rock
breakdown is physical under pressure. Upon
break up of rock. At the thawing the pressure is
released. Carbonation
coast this is by freeze- 3. Process repeats Weathering
thaw eventually causing rock Occurs in warm, wet
to break.
conditions.
2. Chemical: Water in the air mixes with
Terminology CO2 to produce weak
carbonic acid .
Weathering: the the chemistry of the
breakup or decay of rock is altered. At the H2O + CO2
rocks in their original coast this is mainly H2CO3
place at, or close to, the by carbonation,
earths surface however salt spray Alkaline rocks such as chalk
can play a part. and limestone are dissolved
by the acid.
 Terminology

Mass Movement Mass Movement

a)Slides The downhill movement of
material under the
Drier material moves horizontally along influence of gravity
bedding slip plane of rock.

Types of Mass
Movement

b) Slumps Rockfall: fragments of rock

Saturated material moves in a circular
rotation as it is pulled down off the cliff.
This is due to uneven distribution of mass
or a folded curved slip plane.
break away from the cliff
face, often due to freeze-
thaw weathering
Landslide: blocks of rock
slide downhill

Mudflow: saturated soil and

weak rock flows down a
slope

Rotational Slip: slump of

saturated soil and weak
rock along a curved surface
 Wave Types

Constructive Waves: (Depositional)

Surge up the beach with a powerful swash
Carry large amounts of sediment and
construct beach
Formed by distant storms
Waves well spaced apart and powerful when
they reach the coast

Destructive Waves: (Erosional)

Weak swash and powerful backwash
Scour the beach of material destroying
beach
Formed by local storms
Closely spaced and can interfere with one
another, producing chaotic, swirling mass of
water
 Hydraulic Action Abrasion (Corrasion)
Particles carried in the
(Power)
seawater scrape and rub
Coastal Erosion Waves trap air in cracks
against coastal rocks. This
in
sandpaper effect removes
the rock. The creates
small pieces from the
Waves can erode the high pressure. Repeated
coast.
compression widens
land by one of four cracks and breaks off
processes rock

Corrosion (Solution)
Seawater is a weak carbonic Terminology
acid. If particles of alkaline
rock e.g. chalk or limestone Erosion
are carried in seawater they
will eventually dissolve.
the process by
which rock or soil
is gradually
destroyed by
wind, rain, or the
sea
 Coastal Transportation

Traction: large pebbles are rolled along the

seabed

Saltation: a hopping or bouncing motion

of particles too heavy to be suspended

Suspension: particles are carried

(suspended) within the water

Solution: dissolved chemicals often

derived from limestone or chalk
 Coastal Deposition
Coastal Deposition takes place in areas where the flow of water slows down.

Coasts are built up when the amount of deposition is greater than the amount
of erosion

Energy of the water is lost due to friction against the sea bed, meaning the
sediment can no longer be carried or rolled along and has to be deposited.

The amount of material deposited will increase when there is excessive

erosion elsewhere on the coast, meaning that there is a lot of material to be
deposited OR there is a lot of material transported into the area
 Landforms Caused by Erosion
Headlands and
Bays
Cliffs rarely erode at an
even pace. Where
coastlines are made up
of different rocks, rock
that is particularly
resistant to erosion
erode more slowly,
forming headlands.
Areas of weaker rock
erode more quickly to
form bays
Cliffs and Wave Cut Platforms
Waves cause most erosion at the foot of a
cliff causing a wave-cut notch. This is
enlarged as the erosion continues. This
causes the rock above the notch to become
unstable and eventually leads to cliff
collapse. This process repeats over time,
causing the cliff to retreat and leaves behind
a wave cut platform
 Landforms Caused by Erosion
Caves, Arches, Stacks and Stumps

Headlands are usually made of resistant rock that have weaknesses such as
cracks.
 Coastal Erosion at Holderness Reasons for Erosion
Key Facts and Figures
Holderness is in East
Yorkshire and has one of
the fastest eroding
coastlines in Europe
Flamborough Head
(headland) is harder
chalk
The majority of the
coastline is made of soft
blouderclay
Erosion rates (per year):
Flamborough =
0.1m
Average erosion =
1.8m
Clay cliffs = 10m

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Coastal Erosion at Holderness Impacts and
Management
 Landforms Caused by Deposition
1. Sand
Flat and Wide
Sand particles are
Beaches small
Weak backwash able
Beaches are found to move sand
between the high backwards to create
water mark (highest a long, gentle slope
point on the land
that the water will
2. Shingle
reach) and the low Steep and narrow
water mark. They Shingle particles are
are formed by large
constructive waves. Weak backwash
unable to move it
There are 2 types of back down beach
beach: Particles build up to
create a steep slope
 Landforms Caused by Deposition
Spits and Bars
Spits are long, narrow finger shaped areas of sand or shingle that jut out into
the sea. They are formed by longshore drift in areas where the coastline
suddenly changes direction. They are attached to the coastline at one end. If it
reaches out far enough to become attached to another piece of the mainland,
it is called a bar.
 Explain why cliffs collapse.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TGxsC74H2Jw
 Cliffs collapse due to a number of
reasons
These often occur in combination with one another.

The power of the waves pounding against the base of the cliff between the
HWM and LWM undercuts the cliffs and makes it unstable.
The overhanging parts will eventually collapse.

Heavy rainfall can add weight to the land and make it unstable, causing
landslides or slumps to occur. This is especially likely if soft rock is present.

Adding buildings to the cliff tops can have similar effects or even a lot of
people walking on the cliff tops can have similar effects.

People protecting the coast and interfering with longshore drift can
prevent the movement of the sand to replenish beaches and expose the
base of the cliffs to erosion.
Discuss the costs and benefits of using hard engineering to
reduce the risk of cliff collapse.
 How Can Coastlines be Managed? Hard Engineering

Hard Engineering Approaches

Hard Engineering involves using artificial structures to control the flow of the
sea; reducing erosion and flooding. They are expensive and involve high
maintenance costs
Strategy Description Cost Advantages Disadvantages
SEA WALL Concrete or rock Upto 6 Effective at stopping sea Very expensive to create
barrier placed at top million per Often have walkways or promenade and maintain
of beach or base of km that people can walk upon Can be unsightly
cliffs Can act as a barrier to flooding Create a strong
Recurved face to backwash, which will
reflect waves back scour the beach or
into sea underneath the wall
Usually 3-5m high
GROYNES Timber or rock built 10,000 Results in a bigger beach which can Problem is shifted
from coast out into each (every increase tourist potential rather than solved
sea 200m) Not too expensive Starve beaches down
Trap sediment Wider beach leads too added natural drift of material,
moved by LSD to protection from flooding and further increasing erosion there;
enlarge beach erosion and increasing risk of
Beach acts as buffer flooding
to incoming waves, Unnatural looking, rock
reducing their ones in particular are
energy and very unattractive
therefore erosion
ROCK ARMOUR Piles of large 1,000 to Relatively cheap Rocks are from
boulders (resistant 4,000 per Often used by fishermen, so adds elsewhere, which leads
rock) at foot of cliff metre interest to the coast to expensive transport
Rocks force waves to costs
break, reducing Can be moved during
energy and storms, so need to be
therefore erosion replaced
 How Can Coastlines be Managed? Soft Engineering

Soft Engineering Approaches

Soft Engineering approaches try to fit in with the natural environment and
coastal processes. They do not involve artificial structures. They are more
environmentally and economically sustainable as they are unobtrusive and
normally have lowDescription
Strategy maintenanceCost
costs. Advantages Disadvantages

BEACH Adding more sand or Appox. 3,000 Relatively cheap and easy to maintain Needs constant
NOURISHMENT shingle to a beach to per metre Blends in with existing beach maintenance due to LSD
make it wider Increases tourist potential due to larger moving material down drift
Sediment locally beach Can kill organisms on sea
sourced to blend in with Larger beach reduces risk of flooding and bed
existing beach erosion
Normally brought
onshore by barge
DUNE Sand dunes are Approx. Maintains a natural environment that Time-consuming
REGENERATION effective barriers 2,000 per attracts wildlife and tourists Relies on people responding
against the sea 100metres Relatively cheap to the fenced off areas
They are fragile, so Can be damaged by storms
easily destroyed Protection is only limited to
Planting Marram Grass that area
stabilises the dunes
Fences will keep people
off
MARSH CREATION Involves allowing low- Dependant on Cheap in comparison to implementing and Land will be lost
(MANAGED lying coastal areas to value of land; maintaining sea defences Farmers or landowners will
RETREAT) flood arable land Creates habitats for wildlife need to be compensated
The area can become costs 5,000 Flooding and erosion reduced behind the Farmers livelihood would be
a salt marsh to 10,000 per marshland affected
This provides a barrier metre
to the sea
COASTAL HABITAT Saltfleetby - Formation
Key Facts and Figures
Saltfleetby
Theddlethorpe Dunes
stretch 8km along the
North Lincolnshire
coastline
Habitats include a
saltmarsh and a variety
of dunes
It is a National Nature
Reserve (NNR) and a
Special Area for
Conservation (SAC)
 COASTAL HABITAT Saltfleetby Saltmarsh
Characteristics
Saltmarshes start as an
accumulation of mud and
silt in a sheltered part of the
coastline
Over time, more deposition
allows the mud to break the
surface and form mudflats.
Salt-tolerant plants begin to
colonise these are known
as pioneer plants.
As sediment is trapped by
plants and they decay, the
mud level begins to rise
This reduces the salt
content and increases
fertility of the soil, allowing
new species to grow - this is
vegetation succession.
COASTAL HABITAT Saltfleetby - Management

Conservation and Sustainable use

The area is conserved to preserve its natural

habitat; but it still able to be used sustainably. The
reserve is managed by Natural England in
partnership with the Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust and
the Ministry of Defence.
Coastal Management -New Forest Coastline
Pressures on the Coastline

The New Forest District Council is responsible

for this stretch of coastline, and split it into 3
key areas
Coastal Management -New Forest Coastline
Management of the Coastline

Coastal erosion needs to be managed, but the

council need to decide whether it is worth
protecting the area with sea defences, this is
known as Cost-benefit analysis
 Rising Sea Levels - How
Increases in the atmospheric concentrations 1. Thermal
of the greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, Expansion
methane,
nitrous oxide and chlorofluorocarbons) is As oceans warm,
expected to result in substantial global-scale its density
warming in the future. In response to this decreases, which
in turn increases
warming, global mean sea level will change,
the volume of
due to two main
2. Melting Ice reasons. water
Global warming is
causing Ice Caps (Ice
covering land);
glaciers and snow to
melt.
This water eventually
runs to the sea,
increasing the overall
volume of water in
the sea
This is not the case
for icebergs, as they
displace the water,
meaning there is no
 Rising Sea Levels - Maldives
The Maldives are a maximum of 2.4m above sea level, putting
them at great risk from sea level rise. There will be a variety of
impacts
 Glossary
Key Term Definition
Abrasion Erosion caused by the rubbing and scouring
(Corrasion) effect of material carried by waves
Attrition Erosion caused when rocks and boulders,
transported by waves, bump into each other
and break up into smaller pieces
Backwash the movement of water down a beach to the
sea
Biological Weathering that involves the break down or
Weathering degradation of rock by living organisms
Chemical Weathering that involves a chemical change
Weathering taking place
Constructive Wave A powerful wave with a strong swash that
surges up a beach
Corrosion (solution) Erosion caused by acids in waves dissolving
rocks by chemical action

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 Glossary
Key Term Definition
Crest The top of a wave

Destructive Wave A wave that crashes down onto a beach and

has a powerful backwash
Fetch distance wind has travelled over open water
to create waves
Freeze-thaw A process of physical weathering by which
Weathering rock disintegrates due to water in cracks
repeatedly freezing and thawing
Hard Engineering Building artificial structures such as sea walls
aimed at controlling natural processes
Hydraulic Power Erosion caused by the sheer force of water
breaking off small pieces of rock
Longshore Drift The movement of material along a coast by
breaking waves

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 Glossary
Key Term Definition
Managed Retreat Allowing controlled flooding of low-lying
coastal areas or cliff collapse in areas where
the value of land is low
Mass Movement The downhill movement of weathered material
under gravity
Mechanical a process of weathering which results in
Weathering smaller pieces of the same rock material being
produced.
Pioneer Plant a species or community of plant(s) that is first
to colonise a previously barren area.
Prevailing Wind The direction from which the wind usually
blows
Saltation A process of transportation in which small
particles bounce along the bed in a leap-frog
action

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 Glossary
Key Term Definition
Soft Engineering A sustainable approach to managing the coast
without using artificial structures
Solution A process of transportation in which dissolved
particles are carried in the water
Suspension A process of transportation in which material is
picked up and carried along with the water
itself
Swash the running of water up a beach under the
momentum of a breaking wave
Traction A process of transportation in which material is
rolled along the bed
Vegetation A sequence of vegetation species colonising an
Succession environment
Weathering The breakdown of rocks by either mechanical
processes or chemical changes

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