coastal landscapes

• ENQUIRY QUESTION

  how and why are the two areas of cromer coastline different
• how and why are the WHAT!!!

  two areas of cromer coastline different
• how and why are the two areas of cromer coastline different
• | beach profiling - quantitative

  • follow a straight transect line from edge of sea to end of active beach

  1. person 1 stands at a safe distance from the edge of the sea with a ranging pole
  2. person 2 holds a second ranging pole further up the beach where there is a break of slope
  3. distance between 2 ranging poles is measure using a tape measure
  4. angle between matching markers on each ranging pole is measured with a clinometer or an app
  5. repeat at each break of slope until top of beach is reached
• | risk assessments

  • examine risks by using GIS
  • identify potential hazards & safe ways to access beach
  • check tide times; finish fieldwork when tides are low
  • check weather forecast to identify potential hazards
• | sediment analysis

  • done on beach

  1. use callipers to measure a, b & c axes: a is longest, b is widest & c is shortest
  2. use power's scale of roundness to record shape based on how angular or rounded it is
  3. use protractor to measure minimum radius of curvature
• • site 1, near cromer pier: fully managed section of beach with sea walls & groynes
  • site 2, cromer beach: undefended section of beach
• | primary data collected

  • beach profile
  • sediment analysis
  • field sketch
  • soundscapes
  • accessibility survey
  • bi-polar survery
• • more sediment build up in undefended site
• • undefended site had a lower range of sediment sizes; mostly around 10-20mm
• • undefended site had more poor ratings for the bi-polar survey with bad facilities however was seen as less ugly
• | analysis & conclusion

  • both have sandy beaches but defended has a lot of shingle
  • could be due to being trapped in groynes however the beach wasn't higher
  • this could be due to the fact measurements were affected by tide
  • for the undefended site, it could be due to human error- it'd be expected that Longshore Drift would've taken away material- OR because geographical theory can't always be applied
• • there were some DIFFERENCES in pebble size
  • geographically, pebbles would be smaller & rounded near shoreline because they're eroded by the sea
  • results do show this but there were no larger pebbles at the back of the beach at the undefended site
• • more social amenities in site with defences
  • to be expected as it's closer to the pier & has been invested in by the council
• | evaluation

  • PROS
  • visit & collect primary data
  • collected range of data
  • CONS
  • new equipment so human error is possible
  • clinometers don't always work well BUT we were able to check gradient using an app
  • only visited area once
  • couldn't access whole beach in defended area as tide was in
• | GIS

  • geographical information system
  • displays & analyses information on a map
  • has layers