hard engineering

• what are sea walls?

  stone/concrete walls at the foot of the cliff or at the top of a beach. they usually have a curved face to reflect waves back into the sea
• give pros of sea walls?

  effective at preventing erosion

  often have a promenade for people to walk along
• give cons of sea walls?

  reflect wave energy, rather than absorbing

  intrusive and unnatural looking

  expensive to build and maintain
• what are revetments?

  Sloping wooden/concrete/or rock structures at the foot of a cliff or at the top of a beach. They BREAK UP the waves energy
• give a pro of revetments?

  relatively inexpensive to build
• give cons of revetments?

  intrusive

  very unnatural looking

  need high levels of maintanence
• what is rock armour / rip rap?

  Large rocks placed at the foot of a cliff or the top of a beach.

  It forms a permeable barrier to the sea, breaking up the waves but allowing some water to pass through
• give pros of rock armour?

  relatively cheap and easy to construct and maintain

  often userd for recreation eg sunbathing eg fishing
• what is rock armour sometimes called?

  rip rap
• give cons of rock armour?


  very intrusive

  usually not local rocks and can look out of place with local geology.

  very dangerous potentially for people clambering over them
• what are gabions?

  metal cages full of stones which dissipates/ absorb wave energy
• give pros of gabions?

  low cost and easy to install

  often local materials available|

  effective
• give cons of gabions?

  high maintenence

  short life span

  metal corrodes and rusts

  unatttractive
• what are groynes?

  timber/rock structures built at right angles to the coast. trap sediment that is being moved along the coast by LSD - they BUILD UP THE BEACH
• give pros of groyners?

  work with natural processes to build up the beach which increases tourist potential and protects the land behind it

  not too expensiver
• give cons of groynes?

  starves beaches further along the coast of fresh sediment because they interrupt LSD , often leading to increased erosion elsewhere.

  unnatural and unnatractive