Coasts - Case Studies

• Holderness Coastline - Facts:

  • It is located on the east coast of England and extends 61km from Flamborough in the north to Spurn Point in the South
  • It is one of Europe's fastest eroding coastlines with an annual rate of 2m per year
  • Approximately, 5km of land has been lost since the Roman times, which includes 23 towns/villages
• Holderness Coastline - Geology:

  • Flamborough has exposed chalk, so features such as caves, arches and stacks are present
  • Most places are covered by glacial till that was deposited over 18,000 years ago --> Soft Boulder clay, which erodes easily
  • Is also made up of bedrock, which is made of cretaceous chalk
• Holderness Coastline - Reasons for rapid erosion:

  • Strong prevailing winds = Longshore Drift (LSD) that moves material south along the coastline
  • Cliffs are made up of soft boulder clay, which erodes rapidly when saturated
• Holderness Coastline - Changes to the Coastline:

  • The coastline has retreated
  • Spurn Point has become more defined with more recurved ends visible
  • There have been more deposits behind the spit to make a salt marsh
• Holderness Coastline - Coastal Management at Hornsea:

  • Up to 3m of erosion per year as the cliffs are formed from weak boulder clay
  • Management protects tourist features, such as arcades and hotels - also creates a sandy beach
  • Has a sea wall (an unattractive feature)
  • Has wooden groynes, which prevents material from reaching seaside towns to the south. Also, the groynes were repaired and built for a cost of £5.2 million
• Holderness Coastline - Coastal Management at Mappleton:

  • Experienced up to £2.9 million in damages a year before management was put in place
  • Rock Armour was put in + costed £2 million
  • It produced a sandy beach and the defences protect the town, a grade 2 listed church and the B1242
  • South of Mappleton, the rate of erosion has increased significantly
• Odisha - Facts:

  • Located on the south east coast of India, bordering the Bay of Bengal
  • Is India's 9th largest state by area and 11th largest by population
  • Has a wide variety of coastal and marine flora and fauna (i.e. mangroves and sea grasses)
  • Has large stocks of fish, marine animals and reptiles
• Odisha - Opportunities for Human Occupation and Development:

  • Has large fish stocks
  • Has a huge potential for offshore wind, wave and tidal power
  • 35% of the coast has minerals and heavy metal deposits
  • Has oil and gas offshore
  • Tourism due to beaches, wildlife sanctuaries and archaeological sites
• Odisha - Risks for Human Occupation and Development:

  • Vulnerability of coastal communities due to storm surges, tsunamis, climate change and rising sea levels
• Odisha's Shoreline Assessment:

  • Attempting to halt coastal processes with sea walls and hard structures would mean that the problems would shift downwards
  • Without sediment transportation, beaches, dunes, barrier beaches, salt marshes, estuaries, etc would be threatened and disappear as they are staved of sand
• How has human intervention affected the coast?

  • Has interfered with sediment transfer
  • Has destabilised patterns of wave energy
  • Has exacerbated erosion in some areas
• Odisha's ICZM Aims:

  • Establish sustainable levels of economic and social activity
  • Resolve environmental, social and economic challenges
  • Protect coastal environments
  • Was a joint project with: Ministry of Forest and Environment, the Indian Government, Odisha's Government and the World Bank
• The 6 major issues at Odisha's Coast:

  • Coastal erosion
  • Assessing vulnerability to disaster
  • Biodiversity conservation
  • Livelihood security
  • Pollution and environment quality management
  • Conservation of cultural assets
• Why are Wetlands International reversing mangrove destruction?

  • It is a sustainable and appropriate management scheme, which helps to protect against cyclones, storm surges and tsunamis
  • This is done by helping villagers to plant and cultivate mangroves
• Chilika Lake:

  • One of the largest brackish lakes in the world
  • Home to the rare Irrawady dolphin and thousands of olive ridley turtles 
  • Bhitarkanika wetlands contain the second largest mangrove ecosystem in Asia
  • Both of these areas are also home to large vulnerable populations
• Saltwater Intrusion:

  • The soil of Balasore district is mostly alluvial (made up of sand and earth left by rivers, floods, etc.)
  • Aquifer is severely contaminated by saline water intrusion within a 5km to 9km wide tract along the coastline
• Odisha:

  • 33% of the state's total population live in coastal districts (total: 43 million)
  • Mean shoreline change is about 0.67 m/year
  • Key features of the coast are micro-tidal, monsoonal and wave dominated
• Holderness Summary:

  • Issues are around coastal management as certain areas are protected and the rest is left to crumble
  • There are issues along the direction of longshore drift from defences in Hornsea and Mappleton where inserting groynes has reduced the sediment moving down current, so erosion rates here enhanced
  • SMP for every metre along this high energy coast
  • Material from erosion feeds dynamic equilibrium at Spurn Point
  • Sediment cell from Flamborough to Gibraltar Point, Lincolnshire
• Odisha Summary [1]:

  • Location: NE India on the Bay of Bengal
  • 480km coastline with 28% actively eroding
  • Low lying landscape with many river deltas, which bring large amounts of fluvial sediment
  • 16 villages disappeared under the sea and 247 other villages face the same fate as sea levels rise
  • Face issues with saline intrusion
• Odisha Summary [2]:

  • 14 million people live in coastal districts
  • 10,000 died in Odisha Super-cyclone in 1999
  • Only 46 died in Cyclone Phailin in 2013
  • After 1999, no one died where mangroves still existed [idea of a bioshield] so more were planted
  • World Bank helped to organise evacuation plans, evacuation sites and education
  • Issues with mangroves being denuded as prawn farming was more profitable
  • Police guarding forests to stop 'prawn mafia' acting from them
• Odisha Summary [3]:

  • Cyclone and mangrove plans are all part of ICZM
  • Also makes Chilika Lake (2nd largest lagoon in the world) a safe haven for biodiversity (e.g. olive ridley turtles)
  • ICZM about keeping people safe and prosperous whilst protecting the environment, not a SMP.
  • Highly active coast, mangroves main protection, plus a few geosynthetic walls
• Odisha Article Summary:


  • Bay of Bengal records 4 times as many cyclones as the Arabian Sea
  • Saltwater intrusion --> crops never grew to full capacity, agricultural land was lost
  • Bay of Bengal experienced environmental volatility after 1999 Odisha super-cyclone
  • Repeated cyclones damaged wells and boreholes used for irrigation