holderness x

• what is the annual rate of erosion?

  2 metres per year
• since roman times how many towns and villages have been lost?

  29 towns and villages have been lost to the sea
• holderness coast stretches between Flamborough head in the north and Spurn head in the south

  it has the fastest eording coastline in Europe
• what is the geology of the holderness coast?

  most of the holderness coast consists of boulder clay, also known as glacial till

  it's a mixture of fine clays, sands, and boulders deposited by glaciers after the last Ice Age

  boulder clay is structurally weak, and has little resistance to erosion: unconsolidated
• how was the headland at flamborough head created?

  there is a chalk band that surrounds the boulder clay

  erosion along bedding planes has created features such as cliffs, arches, and stacks
• how does fetch affect the rate of erosion?

  how far the waves have travelled

  Holderness is exposed to winds and waves from the North-East, with a small fetch of about 600km

  but the waves attacking the holderness coast are influenced by other factors which help to increase their size and power
• currents circulate around the UK from the Atlantic ocean into the North Sea

  the Atlantic's fetch is 5000km, so its currents add energy to the waves in the North Sea

  thus, there are often powerful destructive waves at work along the Holderness coastline
• low-pressure weather systems and winter storms passing over the North-Sea are often intense, producing locally strong winds and waves

  low-pressure air weighs less, raising sea levels, which in turn produce much higher tides than normal, which are able to reach the cliff base
• another factor which influences the rate of erosion at the holderness coast?


  the sea floor is relatively deep along the holderness coast, so waves reach the cliffs without first being weakened by friction
• economic impacts of the fast rate of recession?

  loss of jobs, causing young skilled citizens to move elsewhere for job opportunities, causing brain drain

  little or no new investment to sustain local communities, as companies won't invest in an area that may not be here in the next 50 years

  cost of loss of businesses and agricultural land

  repairs of roads
• social impacts of fast rates of recession?

  23 villages have been lost since Roman times through coastal recession, for example Dimlington

  3 miles of land has been lost since Roman times

  homes and businesses have been lost
• another social impact of the fast rates of recession?

  many of the settlements located along the coast are heavily reliant on tourism

  but as facilities start to close down, the settlements are unable to maintain a good visitor population and as recession continues they start to lose their facilities to the ocean

  for example, 100 chalets have been lost at the Golden Sands holiday park
• what factors influence the annual erosion rate of 2m (fastest eroding coastline in Europe)?

  geology: boulder clay: unconsolidated: susceptible to wetting and drying

  prone to slumping: water enters cracks in the rocks, adds weight to the cliff, then slumps

  slumping is worsened during heavy rainfalls as the rock becomes saturated
• • in a stormy year destructive waves from the North Sea can remove 10m of coastline
• environmental impacts?

  spurn point/head is losing biodiversity due to the lack of sediment
• economic impact?

  farms along the coast are devaluing

  farmers lose profits year on year as the land falls into the sea
• social impact?

  properties under the threat of being lost to the sea lose their value thus leaving home owners with negative equity