Coastal Management

• Sea walls description

  Sea walls are concrete placed at the foot of cliffs or at the top of a beach. They have curved faces to reflect the waves back into the sea.
• Sea walls - Advantages

  • Effective at protecting the base of the cliff.
  • Sea walls usually have promenades so people can walk along them.
• Sea walls disadvantages

  • Waves are still powerful and can break down and erode the sea wall.
  • Expensive - approximately £2,000 per metre.
  • Do not look natural.

  High maintenance costs
• Groynes description

  Timber or rock structures built on the beach and stretch into sea. They trap sediment being moved by longshore drift, thereby enlarging beach. The longer beach acts as a buffer to the incoming waves, reducing wave attack at coast
• Groynes advantages

  • Builds a beach - which encourages tourism.
  • Good for fishing 
  • Not too expensive
• Groynes disadvantage

  • In interrupting longshore drift, they starve other beaches downdraft, often leading to increased rates of erosion elsewhere. 
  • Problem is not solved but rather shifted. 
  • Groynes are unnatural and rock groynes are particularly unattractive
• Rock armour description

  Piles of large boulders dumped at the foot of a cliff. The rocks force waves to break, absorbing their energy and protecting the cliffs.
• Rock armour advantages

  • Relatively cheap and easy to maintain.
  • Can provide interest to the coast. 
  • Often used for fishing.
• Rock armour disadvantages

  • Rocks are usually from other parts of coast or even abroad and so can be expensive to transport.
  • They do not blend with the local geology.
  • Can be very obtrusive.
• Gabions description

  wire cages filled with rocks that can be built up to support a cliff or provide a buffer against the sea
• Gabions advantages

  • Cheap to produce and flexible in the final design
  • Can improve drainage of cliffs
  • Will eventually become vegetated and merge into the landscape
• Gabions disadvantages

  • ugly to look at
  • wire cages can corrode over time(5-10 years)
• beach nourishment description

  Addition of sand or shingle to an existing beach to make it higher/broader. The sediment is usually obtained locally so that it blends in with existing beach material.
• Beach nourishment advantages

  • Blends in with the existing beach.
  • Larger beaches appeal to tourists.
• Beach nourishment disadvantages

  • Needs constant maintenance unless structures are built to retain beach, e.g. groynes.
  • Can be expensive
• Dune regeneration description

  Sand dunes are effective buffers to the sea especially by human activity. Marram grass can be planted to stabilise the dunes and help them to develop. Areas can be fenced to keep people off newly planted dunes
• Dune regeneration advantages

  • Maintains a natural coastal environment that is popular with people and wildlife,
  • Relatively cheap.
• Dune regeneration disadvantages

  • Time-consuming to plant marram grass and fence off areas. 
  • People sometimes dispute being prohibited from accessing certain areas.
  • Can be damaged by storms.
• Dune fencing description

  Fences encourage new dune formation. These new dunes help to protect existing dunes
• Dune fencing advantages

  • Minimal impact on natural systems
  • Can control public access to protect other ecosystems
• Dune fencing disadvantages

  • Can be unsightly especially if fences become broken
  • Regular maintenance needed especially after storms