3.10

• Can erosion be stopped?

  Erosion can be managed up to a point, but it is expensive and controversial. Soft-engineering techniques are more popular now than hard-engineering methods.
• What is soft engineering?

  Soft engineering refers to methods that work with natural processes to reduce erosion and manage the coast, such as beach nourishment, dune stabilisation, and marsh creation
• What are the advantages of beach nourishment?

  It is relatively cheap, easy to maintain, looks natural, and increases tourist potential.
• What are the disadvantages of beach nourishment?

  It requires constant maintenance due to erosion and longshore drift.
• What is the cost of beach nourishment for 100 meters?

  £300,000.
• What are the advantages of cliff re-grading?

  Re-grading works on clay or loose rock and is cost-effective, helping cliffs retreat.
• What are the disadvantages of cliff re-grading?

  Drained cliffs can dry out and collapse, and the method is not always applicable.
• What are the advantages of dune stabilisation?

  It maintains a natural coastal environment and wildlife habitats, is relatively cheap, and is sustainable.
• What are the disadvantages of dune stabilisation?

  It is time-consuming to plant marram grass.
• What is the cost of dune stabilisation for 100 meters?

  £200-2,000.
• What are the advantages of marsh creation?

  It is relatively cheap and creates a natural defence, providing a buffer to powerful waves.
• What are the disadvantages of marsh creation?

  It causes the loss of agricultural land, and farmers or landowners need to be compensated.
• What is the cost of marsh creation?

  The cost varies, depending on the size of the area left to the sea.
• What is hard engineering?

  Hard engineering involves using structures like groynes, sea walls, and rock armour to control erosion.
• What are the advantages of groynes?

  Groynes work with natural processes to build up the beach, increasing tourist potential, and are not too expensive.
• What are the disadvantages of groynes?

  They interrupt longshore drift, starving other beaches of sediment, and can cause increased erosion elsewhere.
• What is the cost of groynes at 200-meter intervals?

  £5,000-10,000 each.
• What are the advantages of sea walls?

  Sea walls effectively prevent erosion, often have a promenade on top, and reflect wave energy.
• What are the disadvantages of sea walls?

  They are very expensive to build and maintain.
• What is the cost of sea walls per meter?

  £6,000 per meter.
• What are the advantages of rock armour?

  It is relatively cheap, easy to construct, and maintain
• What are the disadvantages of rock armour?

  The rocks used may not fit with local geology and can be visually intrusive.
• What is the cost of rock armour for 100 meters?

  £100,000-300,000.
• What are the advantages of revetments?

  Revetments are relatively inexpensive to build.
• What are the disadvantages of revetments?

  They can be intrusive, unnatural-looking, and require high levels of maintenance.
• What is the cost of revetments per meter?

  Up to £4,500 per meter.
• What are the advantages of offshore breakwaters?

  They provide an effective permeable barrier.
• What are the disadvantages of offshore breakwaters?

  They are visually unappealing and can be a potential navigation hazard.
• What is the impact of hard engineering on the Holderness Coast?

  Only 11 km of the 85 km coast is protected, and hard-engineering methods in some places have caused problems elsewhere, like erosion at Mappleton and Cowden.
• What defences are used at Hornsea?

  Sea walls, groynes, and rock armour.
• What is the impact of defences at Hornsea?

  Groynes trap sediment, maintaining the beach at Hornsea but causing erosion at Mappleton due to sediment starvation.
• What defences are used at Mappleton?

  Two rock groynes and rock armour.
• What is the impact of defences at Mappleton?

  Sediment starvation caused increased cliff erosion at Cowden, 3 km south.
• What is the impact of defences at Mappleton?

  Sediment starvation caused increased cliff erosion at Cowden, 3 km south.
• What defences are used at Withernsea?

  A curved sea wall replaced the old sea wall in the 1990s after a cost-benefit analysis
• What is the impact of defences at Withernsea?

  Waves are noisier, and the promenade is smaller.
• What is a cost-benefit analysis (CBA)?

  A CBA compares the costs and benefits of a coastal management project, forecasting costs and comparing them with expected benefits.
• What are tangible costs and benefits in a CBA?

  Tangible costs and benefits are those that can be assigned a monetary value, such as building costs.
• What are intangible costs and benefits in a CBA?

  Intangible costs and benefits are harder to quantify but are still important, such as visual impact or environmental effects.
• What is an example of sustainable coastal management?

  The Mahanadi Delta in Odisha, India, is planting mangroves to protect against cyclones, reversing mangrove destruction after the 1999 'super cyclone' Kalina.