Coastal management

• Soft engineering


  Does not involve building artificial structures, but takes a more sustainable and natural approach to managing the coast
• Beach nourishment


  Sand is pumped onto an existing beach to build it up
• Beach nourishment


  • Allows beach to absorb wave energy
  • Reduces erosion
  • Blends in with the existing beach
  • Larger beaches appeal to tourists
• Reprofiling


  The sediment is redistributed from the lower part of the beach to the upper part of the beach
• Reprofiling


  • Cheap and simple
  • Reduces the energy of the waves
• Dune nourishment


  Marram grass planted on sand dunes stabilises the dunes and helps to trap sand to build them up
• Dune nourishment


  • Acts as a natural barrier
  • Relatively cheap
  • Maintains a natural coastline
• Disadvantages of soft engineering


  • Needs to be constantly replaced
  • The sand has to be brought in from elsewhere
  • Only works when wave energy is low
  • Needs to be repeated continuously
  • Can be damaged by storm waves
  • Areas have to be zoned off from the public
• Hard engineering


  Involves building artificial structures which try to control natural processes
• Sea wall


  1. Concrete walls that are placed at the foot of a cliff to prevent erosion

  2. They are curved to reflect the waves and absorb their energy
• Rock armour


  1. Large boulders placed at the foot of a cliff

  2. They break the waves
• Groynes


  1. Wooden or rock structures built out at right angles into the sea

  2. Trapping material being transported by longshore drift
• Gabions


  Rocks are held in mesh cages and placed in areas affected by erosion
• Hard engineering


  • Expensive
  • Visually unattractive
  • Unsustainable
  • Often increase erosion in other places further down the coast
  • Long lasting and effective in reducing coastal erosion