What different kinds of coastal protection are there along the coast of Norfolk, andwhat do they depend on?
What different kinds of coastal protection
are there along the coast of Norfolk, and
what do they depend on?
Aim
My aim is, as the title suggests, finding out what different kinds of coastal protection there are along the coast of Norfolk, and what they have an effect on.
Theory
Coastlines can be eroded or constructed. There are many different ways of doing both. Destructive waves, long shore drift and weathering (physical and chemical) are all the possible ways of destroying or moving the coastline. Constructive waves and long shore drift are the two possible ways of constructing a coastline. Although over the past few decades, there has been a new way introducing itself as a destructive force. The rise in sea level. Due to increased global warming, the sea level has risen, and therefore eroded higher levels of coastline:
Waves
The power and type of the wave has a large effect on the erosion and construction of the coastline. The more fetch a wave has, the more power the wave has when it reaches the beach. The fetch of the wave is the distance the wind has to blow on the sea/wave until it reaches the beach.
There are two types of wave. One is called Constructive, and the other is called Destructive. Constructive waves push material (sand, debris, fish etc) towards the beach and onto it, therefore increasing the length/height of the beach, but are less powerful than the destructive waves. Also, as the name suggests, destructive waves drag material from the beach back into the sea, reducing the length/height of the beach.
Long shore drift is when the waves come in at an angle, and go back out straight (perpendicular to the beach), taking the beach material with it. Long Shore Drift changes the coastline because it moves the material across the beach. This happens repeatedly to drag the material further and further down the coastline.
Erosion
Erosion is the gradual destruction of land by natural and un-natural forces, e.g. Water currents, wind, humans, acid rain etc. For the erosion of land by water, there are four types of erosion. Corrasion (abrasion) is caused by large waves hurling beach material against a cliff. Attrition is where the force of the waves causes boulders to collide underwater and break up into smaller particles. Corrosion (solution) is where acids and chemicals in the ocean gradually erode the cliff. Hydraulic Pressure is air bubbles (embedded in the cliff) being compressed by the force of the waves hitting it.
Headlands and Bays
Different types of land material eroding quicker than others form headlands and bays. Land is made up of different materials. Some a lot harder and tougher than others. It is made up of clay, sandstone, chalk and limestone. Limestone and chalk are both hard, resistant materials, and don't erode as quickly as the clay and sandstone. When the clay and sandstone are eroded, bays are formed. The resistant materials don't wear away as quick, and therefore form headlands. The following diagram (overleaf) explains how land goes from flat to having bays and headlands.
Physical Weathering
Physical weathering can erode the coastline because at the bottom of most cliffs, there is an impermeable layer of fresh peat. When it rains, all the water from the land nearby runs down the earth and tries to rejoin the water basin, but when it can't get through the fresh peat, it all gets stored in the cliff. The cliff ends up being too heavy to stay, so it collapses. There is an example of this shown in the photo below:
Chemical Weathering
Acidic rain is the cause of chemical weathering. It rains ...
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Physical Weathering
Physical weathering can erode the coastline because at the bottom of most cliffs, there is an impermeable layer of fresh peat. When it rains, all the water from the land nearby runs down the earth and tries to rejoin the water basin, but when it can't get through the fresh peat, it all gets stored in the cliff. The cliff ends up being too heavy to stay, so it collapses. There is an example of this shown in the photo below:
Chemical Weathering
Acidic rain is the cause of chemical weathering. It rains on the cliff and because the cliff has no support from the coast side, it collapses due to the chemicals in the rain weakening the strength of the cliff.
Objectives
To complete my aim, I will need to record what coastal defences are in place along the coast of Norfolk. I will draw a field sketch for each place I visit, map the land use for every place I visit, and record the characteristics of the beach/coastline. People will be asked to fill in a questionnaire about the coastline and the coastal protection methods of the different places.
Prediction
I predict that as the rate of erosion gets higher along the beaches, the quality and amount of coastal protection will get higher. Although this is true, the amount and quality of coastal protection will depend more on the land use, for example, the more residential and involved with tourism the area is, the more coastal protection there will be.
Location Description
Norfolk is situated in the East of England, in East Anglia. (Refer to Map 1) Norfolk is mainly a tourist area, especially along the stretches of beach. The main towns along the Norfolk coast that are being studied are Cley, West Runton, Sheringham, Cromer, Overstrand. At the end of this project, I hve included some photos I took of every place mentioned above apart from West Runton. Most of these towns are not industrial at all. A large number of the population of these towns are either holidaymakers or retired people looking to come to somewhere nice and peaceful. Norfolk coast is in most places, reasonably flat. However, there are some places that are hilly.
Project Uses
I hope that my project will be of good enough quality to send off to companies and governments for a source of information on projects like this of their own. I hope my data could be studied and analysed to help not just the governments, but also the residents of North Norfolk coast.
Method
To obtain my results, and form a good conclusion, I need a method to work from. I will start by measuring the angle of the beach. I will do this by using ranging poles. These are 'javelin' like poles that stick into the sand. The ranging poles will be spaced out at 5m intervals between the bottom of the cliff and the bottom of the beach. I will then use a clinometer to measure the angle of the beach by lining up the top of the ranging poles down the clinometers site, and reading off the indicated angle on the clinometer.
Field sketches will be drawn at each beach that I visit. Also for every place that I visit, I will map the land use around the beach area using a rough percentage. For example, residential (60%), industrial (5%), tourism (35%) etc. Two questionnaires will need to be filled in by the public for every place that I visit. I intend to do this by introducing myself as a pupil from Oakham School, and explaining what the questionnaire is about.
I have chose to measure all these things because I believe that these are the main things that are influencing and suffering an affect from the coastal protection.
Current/Future Coastal Protection
The existing defences are valued at over £70 million. Currently the Council has a maintenance programme costing £175,000 and has spent an average of £1,350,000 per year over the last five years on capital works. Subject to Ministry approvals, the Council proposes to invest over £7 million over the next four years on capital works schemes and developing its strategy for implementation of the Shoreline Management Plans.
Data Collection
Objective What kind of data needed Where the data will be obtained from
Field Sketches Drawings The view of the beach area
Land Use Written Data Norfolk District Council Information
Questionnaire Written Data The public
Coastal Defences Drawings + Written Field Sketches
Data Presentation
I have chosen to display some of my data in tables, some in pie charts, some in graphs, some in diagrams, some in photos, and the rest in writing.
On the next page are some graphs and pie charts that I have compiled from my data on the questionnaire:
.) Male or Female (just tick)
2.) Age Group (just tick) Under 20
20-40 41-60 Over 60
3.) Where do you come from?
4.) How often do you use the beach? Daily, 2-3 xs per week, Weekly, Often, Less often.
5.) Do you think the coastal protection measures look attractive, Very attractive, Unattractive, Very unattractive.
6.) How effective do you think the coastal defences are at protecting you from the sea? Effective, Very Effective, Ineffective or Very ineffective.
7.) Do you feel that the existing defences represent value for money? Yes/No
8.) There is an idea that selected sections of the coast should have no further expenditure on them and that any existing defences should be removed. What do you think of these proposals?
All areas are entitled to defence, Defence of one area threatens another; Nature should be left to take its course.
Environmental Quality Index Test
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
During my time in Norfolk, for every beach I visited, I scored, out of ten, the values for the following factors:
Cromer Cley Sheringham West Runton Overstrand
Human Intervention
Effect of coastal management on
local properties and infrastructure
Effect of coastal management on
primary industry
Effect of coastal management on
tertiary industry
Access
Effect of coastal management on
other areas along the coast
Below are some bar charts that show the data displayed in the table above.
After the bar charts, there are some pie charts, showing land use between
Sheringham and Overstrand. I got these pie charts from Norfolk Council.
Data Analysis and Interpretation
As the aim of my project was to find out what different kinds of coastal protection there are along the coast of Norfolk, and what they depend on, I think I have presented all the research I have done, very well.
To start off with, I will comment on all the graphs and charts I have worked out, as these show the most data altogether. The bar charts do a good job of presenting the results for all the questionnaires. Looking at all the data, it shows that more people felt strongly about protecting their coastline, than just leaving nature to its own course. This can be understood as many of the people we interviewed lived on the coast, and are constantly trying to defend their towns and houses. The bar charts show a variety of data, and random members of the public were questioned, not just people that live there. By looking at the data, we can clearly see that a large majority of the people interviewed, thought that the defences were effective. There was an equally big amount of people that thought that the defences were unattractive. This therefore shows that the public are more concerned that the defences do their job, than look attractive.
Also, I have drawn out all my field sketches in neat. These help a lot, as they capture some things that the photos didn't. The field sketches were all drawn from different angles; therefore changing what impression was given of each beach. For example, Cley beach was drawn from the side (a cross sectional view) as well as from the top. I did this because most of cley's beach features were the ridges as the beach went up. I drew some of my field sketches as if on a boat, and looking in to shore. I felt that this gave a much clearer picture of the defences there. I think that all my field sketches hold valuable points, and the photographs supports these points.
All of my field sketches show the amount and quality of the existing defences on the beach, and for some of them, I have drawn the tertiary and (when appropriate) primary industry that they are trying to preserve.
At West Runton, there was an example of the cliff collapsing due to the impermeable layer of rock beneath the cliff. I managed to capture this in a photograph, which I have stuck in on the second page, under 'physical erosion.'
It is useful to point out that everywhere I visited, apart from cley, had some form of concrete wall. Whether big in the case of Sheringham, or smaller like West Runton. Big sea walls like Sheringham's, are set up to save the whole town from being eroded into the sea, but the little one at West Runton was made to protect the fishermen's concrete runway into the sea. A prime example of protecting primary industry!
There is a vast amount of difference between the defences on each beach. For example, look at Cley beach. It has only one defence, the shingle ridge. This is because it does not have much to protect, but if we take a beach like Cromer for example, there are vast amounts of coastal defences in operation. This is because there is far more to protect, e.g. tertiary and primary industry. This proves the prediction that the more land use there is, the more defences that will be in place.
The results from my survey of the environmental quality for each beach have proved useful, as you can compare each one with the photos of each beach, and work out why one beach would get more protection than the next. Although these tests were done using answers of my own, I still value them as a reliable source of information.
After analysing all my data, and looking at my results, I can see clearly that the different kinds of coastal protection depend on how much there is to be preserved. My data all seems to reinforce each other, as there is a direct link, the more to be preserved, the more coastal defences there will/should be in place.
Conclusion
I conclude that as the land use increases, so does the amount and quality of the defences. I can see this from all the results I have obtained during my investigation. This follows what my original prediction said, although I also said in my prediction that the amount and quality of sea defences depend also on the rate of erosion. Using my results as evidence, this is not true. This is because although there may be high erosion, the council may not feel that it's worth spending money on so little to save.
Evaluation
I evaluate that my investigation went well. The only thing I came across that I didn't expect was the fact that the amount of sea defence doesn't rely solely on rate of erosion, if at all. My results match with what my prediction (hypothesis) said, and I obtained all the information and results that I said I would in my objectives. I hope that this project can be used again.