soft engineering

• soft engineering 


  working with natural processes to help restore beaches and coastal ecosystems
• beach renourishment 


  replace lost sediment

  nourish beach - less waves reach cliffs - bigger beach = less erosion

  1. recharge - take from a bay and place on a beach that is loosing land
  2. recycle - sand moved from a down drift area - builds up sand

  costs - £20 per meter

  lasts 1-10 years
• beach renourishment advantages


  preserves beach resources

  creates a large sand reservoir

  pushes beach seaward

  no negative effects on structure

  relatively cheap
• beach renourishment disadvantages


  doesn't remove the physical force causing erosion

  requires constant maintenance
• due regeneration


  artificial creation of new sand dunes or restoration of existing ones

  act as a physical barrier between sea and land

  absorb waver energy

  costs - £2000 per meter

  long term if stable
• dune regeneration advantages


  can attract tourists

  provide habitats

  planting projects carried out by local volunteers
• dune regeneration disadvantages


  limited to small areas

  takes around three years for grass to start to spread

  no guarantee that the dune will stabilise
• beach reprofiling


  artificial reshaping of a beach using existing beach material

  in winter, a beach is lowered by destructive waves

  after winter storms, bulldozers move sediment back up the beach

  like beach renourishment, reprofiling ensures that the beach is large enough to be an effective buffer between land and sea

  costs - £200000 a year

  lasts 1-10 years
• beach reprofiling advantages


  preserves beach resources

  creates a large sand reservoir

  pushes shoreline seaward

  beach looks natural

  relatively cheap
• beach reprofiling disadvantages


  doesn't remove the physical force causing erosion

  requires constant maintenance