Soft engineering

• What is beach nourishment and reprofiling and how much does it cost

  Adding sand or shingle to a beach to widen it- this creates more surface area to absorb wave energy

  Cost: £300,000 per 100 metres
• What are the advantages of beach nourishment and reprofiling

  - looks very natural

  - bigger beaches are good for tourism

  - relatively inexpensive

  - aesthetically pleasing

  - arguably essential in supporting tourist industry
• What are the disadvantages of beach nourishment and reprofiling

  - material us constantly subject to erosion and longshore drift so lots of maintenance and monitoring needed

  - dredging the seabed can have impacts of local ecosystems
• Is beach nourishment and reprofiling sustainable environmentally, socially and economically

  - not environmental sustainable: impacts on local ecosystems

  - socially sustainable: attractive allows ppl to continue going on beach

  - economical sustainable: provides jobs due to thriving tourism industry, bigger beaches, aesthetically pleasing
• What is dune regeneration and how much does it cost

  Planting species like marram grass so that the roots bind the dunes. The dunes absorb wave energy and protect the land behind

  Cost: £200- 2000 per 100 metres
• What are the advantages of dune regeneration


  - Cheap and sustainable

  - creates habitats for wildlife

  - maintains natural environment
• What are the disadvantages of dune regeneration

  - ppl walk on dunes and damage them

  - planting is time consuming and it takes time for plant species to become established
• Is dune regeneration sustainable environmentally, socially and economically

  - environmental sustainable: maintains natural environments for ecosystems

  - not social sustainable: time consuming to plant species and ppl walk on them

  - economical sustainable: maintains beach= increase tourism= increased jobs and cheap option
• What is managed retreat- specifically salt-marsh creation and how much does it cost

  Land allowed to be flooded by sea and then left to become a salt marsh. This absorbs wave energy and also creates a buffer to rising sea level and protects higher value land.

  Cost: £1 per metre
• What are the advantages of managed retreat

  - A cheap option

  - creates important and unique wildlife habitats

  - salt marshes are diverse ecosystems supporting many species
• What are the disadvantages of managed retreat

  - agricultural land is lost which creates a need for compensation- politically sensitive, given lost land and/or property
• Is managed retreat sustainable environmentally, socially and economically

  - environmental sustainable: creates important and unique wildlife habitats

  - not social sustainable: political sensitive given loss of land, property and livelihoods

  - economical sustainable: cheap option
• What is cliff stabilisation/ regrading and drainage and how much does it cost

  Reducing the angle of the cliff to stabilise the slope. Drainage of water also stabilises the cliff against mass movement.

  Cost: £ 1million per 100 metres
• What are the advantages of cliff stabilisation/ regrading and drainage

  - cliff becomes more stable

  - less prone to unexpected movement (which could prevent injury to human life)
• What are the disadvantages of cliff stabilisation/ regrading and drainage

  - can look unnatural as the cliff is unnaturally flatter

  - this effectively creating cliff retreat

  - dried out cliff can collapse

  - maybe impractical if valuable land use exists on top of cliff

  - on going maintenance costs
• Is cliff stabilisation/ regrading and drainage sustainable environmentally, socially and economically

  - not environmental sustainable: as dried out cliff can collapse which leads to habitats being destroyed

  - not social sustainable: unnatural looking= not as aesthetic appearance ppl may not want to visit beach

  - economical sustainable?: manages coast so increase tourism and jobs