primary methodology swanage

field sketches

look out on to landscape, draw a rough sketch in box provided, annotate with detailed labels

field sketches pros

answers sub question ‘what coastal management is used in swanage’ as we can see it on the beach and label it. clear box lay out

field sketches cons

it doesnt show variation throughout the year, the range of drawing can vary, no flows shown, can miss out something which is not visible e.g. beach replenishment schemes without prior knowledge and comparison

wave measurements

set a timer for 1 minute, count how many waves you see

wave measurements pros

quick and easy to do, helps us understand q1 why does it need coastal management as we can understand whether waves are destructive or not, inexpensive as no equipment other than timer

wave measurements cons

not reliable as people count waves differently, subjective, very large range in answers, also only taken once not repeated and averaged, also can vary throughout the year

longshore drift

throw apple into the sea and mark on beach parallel to where it landed. time 3 minutes. after 3 minutes mark where the apple ended, measure distance

longshore drift pros

allow us to compare longshore drift at two locations quantitatively, so we can understand question 1 and 3, quick and easy, inexpensive, no difficult equipment used

longshore drift cons

range of answers based off distance of throws, varies throughout the year

groyne profile

using a metre stick measure the drop from the top of the groyne post to the beach on both the north and south sides of the groyne. repeated down the groyne

groyne pros

effectiveness of groynes can be measured quantitavely at trapping sediment, allows us to see change over large range (20), easy to do, inexpensive

groyne cons

couldn’t get all the way down the beach, the same number of poles for each groyne due to the sea, results can be skewed by beach replenishment and raking, groyne 8 anomolous due to water pipe erosion

beach profiles

Every 2 metres from the sealine, place the 2m pole in the sand

-Hold the clinometer at a set height on the pole

-Adjust it to line up with the next 2m pole

-Record the angle the clinometer shows

beach profiles pros

depicts the continuous change of beach gradient, valid, systematic sampling reliable

beach profile cons

big equipment quite fiddly