The sands and clays that make up the cliff s are unconsolidated, this means that they have not been compressed and cemented into hard rock.
Also the coastal Processes are another cause because Along Holderness the movement of material is southwards.
It has been estimated that every year, 500,000 tonnes of material is moved south along the 40km stretch of coast south of hornsea.
This material is sand, in addition 1,500,000 tonnes of mud is washed out to sea each year, and it does not contribute to material on the beach. The sand and mud transported by the sea is eroded from the cliffs.
The problem with the beach at the foot of the Holderness cliffs is that it is removed southwards by long shore drift as fast as the erosion of the cliff adds it to. Therefore there is no build up of beach material to protect the cliffs from erosion.
A further problem facing this coast is that the sea level is rising.
This makes the sea deeper, creating larger, more destructive waves.
- What are the effects of erosion on the Holderness coast?
The Effects of erosion on the Holderness coastline are the cliffs are receding and have been doing so for many years.
Huge areas of Farmland and about 20 whole villages have been lost due to the sea eating at the cliffs.
- What attempts have been made to reduce erosion along this stretch of coastline? Have these solutions worked?
Hard Sea walls have been built to pervert waves eroding the natural cliff material behind it. Made from stone or concrete. These Hard sea walls work very well.
Groynes made from timber normally but sometimes stone, are constructed down the beach at intervals (200m between each other).
They trap the material moving along the beach and it also protects the cliffs.
The Groynes have worked well.
Revetment is a sloping concrete wall that is laid like a carpet along the coast.
These are ok but are a bit expensive.
Gabions are quite good and if they get covered they are good because they won’t look bad and are very cheap.
Rip-Rap: These are large interlocking human-made boulders, which protect the coast by breaking up the waves. They are very expensive but do work.
- Should more attempts be made to reduce erosion on this stretch of coast?
Yes I think more attempts should be made towards the coastline because if we don’t do it, maybe in 20-100 years it will start going into land and wipe out lots of land. We should do it because it may start doing it to other coasts as well.
