Part of The Student Room Group

  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

Sea Defence. Which is better: hard or soft engineering?

Extracts from this document...

Introduction

Which is better: hard or soft engineering? Hard engineering options tend to be expensive, short-term options. They may also have a high impact on the landscape or environment and be unsustainable. Hard engineering is the controlled disruption of natural processes by using man-made structures. An example of hard engineering is a sea wall, these walls are built on the edge of a coastline and made to protect the base of cliffs and also to limit the amount of coastal erosion on a cliff-face were land is being absorbed by the sea. These walls could also prevent coastal flooding. This type of hard engineering is good as it has many aspects and is effective. ...read more.

Middle

Groynes are built to prevent the movement of beach material along the coast by long shore drift. This allows the build-up of a beach; beaches are a natural defence against erosion and also an attraction for tourists. Disadvantages of building a groyne are that it can be seen as unattractive and is also costly to build and maintain. A final example of hard engineering is a boulder barrier; a boulder barrier is large amount of boulders piled up on the beach. These are made to absorb the energy of the waves and also to allow build-up of the beach. ...read more.

Conclusion

Beaches also attract tourists. Beach management is also a relatively inexpensive option but requires constant maintenance to replace the beach material as it is washed away. Managed retreat is when areas of the coast are allowed to flood and erode naturally; these are typically areas of low value. The advantages are that it encourages the development of beaches (a natural defence) and also salt marshes (important for the environment) and costs are low. Managed retreat is a cheap option, but people will need to be compensated for loss of buildings and farmland. Soft engineering is better because it is low cost, long term and sustainable it also incorporates habitats for fish and wildlife and tries to reduce erosion and other environmental impacts. ...read more.

The above preview is unformatted text

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Physical Geography section.

Found what you're looking for?

  • Start learning 29% faster today
  • 150,000+ documents available
  • Just £6.99 a month

or


Here's what a teacher thought of this essay

4 star(s)

A generally very good review of hard and soft engineering techniques. Small tweaks as outlined in the comments would allow make this into a very strong answer.
4 stars

Marked by teacher Eleanor Wilson 01/12/2012

Here's what a star student thought of this essay

5 star(s)

Response to the question

A very good model essay. The candidate uses a technique so that the essay flows, with a good introduction, main body of text and also conclusion. The essay is easy to read and the candidate clarifies their views and points ...

Read full review

Response to the question

A very good model essay. The candidate uses a technique so that the essay flows, with a good introduction, main body of text and also conclusion. The essay is easy to read and the candidate clarifies their views and points succinctly showing how they understand the topic and how the different engineering types are both good and bad to give a balanced view of each.

Level of analysis

The candidate introduces the different concepts of hard and soft engineering well with a definition of what hard engineering is. This leads on to why hard engineering is not a very good solution to a problem, using different examples and the pros and cons of each which are illustrated to a very high standard and show much consideration for impacts on the landscape as well as sustainability and expense. The candidate explains each method well. They seem to be biased to favor soft engineering as they give some of the terms in bold which I wouldn't have done because the argument should be balanced and the conclusion then makes the decision. The conclusion used is adequate because it provides a rounded view based on evidence discussed but it does not take into account the big need to keep land available for future generations.

Quality of writing

The candidate communicates in a very easy to read manner. Geographical terminology and how the candidate understands this is spot on. Grammar, spelling and punctuation are to a high level of accuracy.


Did you find this review helpful? Join our team of reviewers and help other students learn

Reviewed by skatealexia 12/07/2012

Read less
Not the one? Search for your essay title...
  • Join over 1.2 million students every month
  • Accelerate your learning by 29%
  • Unlimited access from just £6.99 per month

See related essaysSee related essays

Related GCSE Physical Geography essays

  1. D1 Recommendations on how a UK tourist destinations can increase its appeal to ...

    Water gun and waterbaloon fights can be held. Many young people would want to attend this. It could be named "The big water fight adventure"!!! A big paintball fight could be held. Many people would attend this. Another idea to improve the tourism of young people to the lake district is hold a big orienteering project and invite students from universities, colleges and schools to take part.

  2. Kobe and Haiti earthquake had many differences between the primary effects because in Haiti, ...

    Secondary effects: Haiti suffered many secondary effects. Some of the secondary effects were that the roads were blocked for up to 10 days. The main prison was wrecked and 4,000 inmates escaped. The airport had to shut down due to control tower damage. All the medical facilities were destroyed and most hospitals collapsed.

  1. GCSE Geography Coursework: Strand 4 - Interpertation of Data

    This increase is because water is constantly added from the River Calder's 34 tributaries, which increase and connect to the main channel as the river approaches downstream. The highest increase in water is between sites 4 to 5, 0.19 to 0.32m.

  2. To what extent is the River Roding a flooding threat to the area in ...

    The River Roding has flooded on 6 occasions since 1947: 1968, 1974, 4 June 1982, 25 June 1982, 15 July 1982 and November 2000. The worst event was on 4th June 1982 when 272 properties and 377 gardens were flooded.

  1. How does flooding affect the environment and the lives of people?

    * Building dams and reservoirs * Planting more trees Case Study 1 MEDC: New Orleans (Hurricane Katrina) Flood 2005 Like many costal and river delta cities New Orleans had been vulnerable to flooding in the past, but when Hurricane Katrina struck on August 29th to September 1st 2005 most of

  2. Field investigation around the hypothesis: The River Piddles bed load will become smaller and ...

    Wetted Perimeter Measure width and average depth; add the depth to double the width. Shows average size of river, can be compared at each different site. Uses average depth from each site, has been taken from a number of results.

  1. An Examination of the coast line in the Swanage Area.

    It erodes very rapidly and can cause many problems near the coast (i.e. cliff erosion). The last type of rock is also very vulnerably to acid rains and normal erosion caused by waves. The coastal landforms found in this area are caused mainly by the rate of erosion.

  2. Coastal Management

    Many erosion processes can be seen at this site, such as slumping, eroding headland features and loss of sand. Nevertheless, this beach is popular with locals and visitors, so it important that the sand does not get eroded away. About 10 years ago much of the sand was washed away

  • Over 160,000 pieces
    of student written work
  • Annotated by
    experienced teachers
  • Ideas and feedback to
    improve your own work