Important locations on Jurassic Coast
Chesil Beach - tombolo
The Fleet Lagoon (behind Chesil Beach)
Chalk headland - Old Harry stack
Sandbanks spit
How does GEOLOGY affect geomorphic processes here?
Made of bands of harder (chalk + limestone) and softer rock (clay) → headlands and bays
Has both concordant + discordant coastlines
Temperature’s effects
Warm, dry summers
Freeze-thaw rare due to mild winters
Wind’s effects
South west prevailing winds can bring storms from Atlantic
High energy destructive waves can increase erosion - eroding base of cliffs
Unstable cliffs → mass movement
Rainfall’s effects
Relatively low annual rain (but heavy rain in winter)
Soils can saturate in winter - slumping of cliffs
Chemical weathering of chalk (carbonation)
Quarrying impacts
Limestone (building material) quarried on Isle of Portland
Quarries expose large areas of rock, making them vulnerable to chemical erosion
Tourism impacts
Major tourist attraction
Coastal footpaths eroded by walkers
This exposes soil and rock to weathering and erosion by wind and rain
Swanage coastal management
1.8km coastal defence works - mainly stone sea walls and timber groynes
90,000m^3 sand deposited → dissipate wave energy
Positives of defences
Lots of hard + soft defences → holistic
Negatives of defences
Beach nourishment needs recharging
Groynes starved the north region of sediment → narrower beach, less dissipation of wave energy