Coastal Change and Management

What are coasts?

Coasts are where the land meets the sea.

Deposition

The process of building up beaches and coastlines by depositing materials eroded from elsewhere.

Longshore Drift

Movement of material along the shore by wave action. It happens when the wave approaches the beach at an angle. The swash carries material up the beach and backwash carries it down at right angles, result of gravity.

Coastal Erosion

A process that involves materials from the coast being broken down and are transported by natural element such as water or wind. It can be a natural cause like longshore drift. Or human induced from climate change and rising water levels.

What is Coast care?

Volunteers that help with coastal management strategies such as re-planting vegetation on sand dunes. These volunteers are crucial if not it is too expensive stabilise sand dunes.

Soft Engineering

Coastal management that does not involve building structures but takes a more sustainable and natural approach to managing the coast. (less invasive)

Hard Engineering

Management strategies that refer to the construction of physical structures to protect coasts by absorbing wave energy and by defend against powerful erosive waves. (invasive)

Beach nourishment

The constant replenishment of large quantities of sand to the beach. Extends the beach and storm protection. But expensive and eroded sand gets washed out to seas, destroys marine life

Relocation of Poverty

The relocating of man-made structures and allowing nature to reclaim the beach. Unpopular to people with strong investments interests in coastal areas.

Planting Mangroves

Planting of mangrove trees along the coast helps as the roots are able to secure and trap sediments. But not all regions can support mangroves. Also cause shore to become shallower, affecting port activities

Stabilising Sand dunes

Sand dunes act as natural barriers to coastal erosion and can be strengthened by planting shrubs and trees or putting in other stabilizing barriers like a fence anchors the sand. But human activities to be minimised to preserve.

Growing Corals

Coral reefs acts as natural breakwaters that protects the coast against coastal erosion. Although waves weaken coral so constant maintenance is needed.

Seawalls

Solid walls made of different materials such as rocks, concrete or wood in the coast to prevent erosion, by absorbing energy of the waves. But expensive, hard to maintain, overtime it might be prone to collapsing becuase of the strong backwash.

Breakwater

A solid wall made out of granite built parallel or attached to the coast. Prevents erosion as waves break before reaching the edge. Also encourages deposition and formation of a beach behind it. Although the areas behind it are the only ones protected.

Groynes

Solid walls usually made of granite or wood built on and perpendicular to the coast. Absorbs or reduces wave energy and encourages deposition on the side of the groynes facing longshore drift. Although deposition only takes place on one side and groynes only protect some of the area on the coast.

Water degradation

Altering of natural water sources for human activities. For example, Freshwater pumped away from natural sources and used unsustainably for factories, farming or drinking water.

Land degradation

The loss of productivity and the soil fertility due to land-based human activities, such as deforestation.