Coastal Management

Aims To know and understand why coastal management is needed To know and understand the advantages and disadvantages of coastal management schemes Consider a range of possibilities.

What are the key words? Read the following statements. Identify the key words to which the definitions belong. 1. A rocky opening through a headland 2. Backward movement of water down the beach after a wave has broken 3. Piece of rock surrounded by sea, now standing away from the coast 4. Long ridge of sand and shingle attached to the land at one end but in the open sea at the the other end 5. High wave with strong backwash which breaks frequently, causing erosion 6. Area of gently sloping or flat rocks exposed at low tide

Answers Arch Backwash Stack Coastal Spit Destructive Wave Wave-cut platform

Types of coastal management There are two different types of coastal management 1. Hard engineering techniques – are expensive, short term, ugly and not sustainable as they battle against natural processes, sometimes causing damage in other places down the coast e.g. groynes, sea walls, revetments, rip/rap (rock armour) and gabions 2. Soft engineering techniques – are less expensive, longer term, attractive and sustainable as they work with natural processes, causing less damage e.g. beach nourishment and stabilising sand dunes

What are these coastal management schemes? Are they hard or soft engineering techniques?

Other types of coastal management schemes Beach Nourishment Gabions Rip Rap (Rock armour)

Task:Look at the following statements and match them to one of the coastal management schemes. Some statements could go in more than one box. Made out of concrete so lasts a relatively long time ·        Built about 200m apart at right angles to the sea ·        Attracts tourists ·        Non-sustainable ·        Sustainable ·        Large boulders placed in front of a cliff ·        Problems occur for areas down the coastline as little material is being transported and therefore more erosion will occur in these areas as there is no beach ·        Soft engineering approach ·        Hard engineering approach ·        Curved to deflect the power of the waves ·        Placed at the base of a cliff ·        Usually used in conjunction with other coastal management schemes ·        Looks natural ·        Expensive ·        Sloping wooden fences with an open structure of planks to break the force of the wave and to trap beach material behind it. ·        Less Expensive ·        Unattractive to look at ·        Dissipate the waves energy ·        Stops the process of longshore drift and builds up the beach ·        Over time it is eroded and has to be maintained ·        Can be used as a promenade so people can walk along to coastline ·        Has to be continually replaced particularly in areas dominated by destructive waves ·        Can be made out of boulders or wood Boulders and rocks in wire cages placed in front of areas vulnerable to erosion