Managing coastal erosion, Holderness

Coasts-Case studies

Managing coastal erosion, Holderness

The Holderness coast lies between Flamborough Head and Spurn Head and is one of the fastest eroding coastlines in Europe. The average rate of erosion is 2 metres per year. Over 30 villages and 26 towns have fallen into the sea since roman times.

There are lots of erosion features along the Holderness coast. The coastline is made of soft clay which experiences rapid erosion. In addition, longshore drift moves south along the coastline so there is little opportunity for beaches to become established in front of the cliffs

The erosional landforms evident along the coastline are varied. There is a wave-cut notch and a wave cut platform at Flamborough Head. Flamborough Head is a headland and along the same coastline are caves, arches and stacks. Towns and villages are constantly under threat from the sea. The coast needs to be managed to protect the settlements. During the cource

This is a preview of the whole essay

Hornsea

Hornsea is a town on the Holderness coastline that has nearly 3km of shoreline fronting the town. The coastline's position has been fixed since the coastal defences were put up which was in 1990s. A concrete sea wall protects the town from flooding. Groynes ensure that the sand and shingle beach is not washed away by long shore drift.

Mappleton

Mappleton is a village 3km south of Hornsea. The village has been exposed to rapid coastal erosion at the rate of 2 metres per year. Two rock groynes and a rock revetment have been built here; this meant a beach accumulated between the groynes, providing a barrier against the erosion. Unfortunately, the groynes are preventing sand from reaching the coastline south-causing more coastal erosion there.

Case Study: Blackpool

Blackpool has a population of over 146,000 and is one of the most popular seaside resorts in Britain. Today, more than 8 million people visit Blackpool every year; however, the resort has its problems with coastal erosion. They have therefore decided to build several sea walls and groynes. To reduce the amount of land and air pollution, they have decided to reduce the amount of sand extraction on the coast and invest in beach nourishment.

Case Study: Bournemouth

Bournemouth is a major sea side resort. Thousands of people visit it every year for business, learning and leisure, However, Bournemouth faces a lot of coastal erosion and the council at Bournemouth decided that they needed to take action, before its strong economy collapsed. They built 100 groynes which trap beach sediment on the up drift, each groyne cost £200,000. This helped quite a lot but to ensure that he least possible amount of erosion would take place they decided to invest in beach nourishment schemes. If there were no coastal defence schemes, it would have taken 5-10 years for the beach to disappear. This would have caused a great effect on the economy and affected businesses and people everywhere. It is quite shocking how people are affected by the power of the waves. This is why the government has to make sensible decisions in order to protect the coastline from retreating inland.

Managing coastal erosion, Holderness

This is a preview of the whole essay

Document Details

Related Essays

Coastal Erosion. Many factors have led to erosion on the Holderness coast,...

Swanage and Coastal Erosion

The Holderness Coast

Holderness Coast .