What is a sediment cell?
a section of coastline where erosion, transport and deposition operate in a system with sources, transfers and sinks
What is a source?
where erosion takes place and produces sediment
What is a transfer?
traction
Saltation
Suspension
Solution
What is a sink?
Where sediment is deposited
Processes in a Sediment cell
each cell is a relatively closed system with little transfer from one cell to another unless there is a storm
Dynamic equilibrium takes place. The source will be balanced by the deposition in the sink which is transferred by LSD
the amount of sediment that is gained and lost can be quantified by a ‘sediment budget’
This calculation can allow for appropriate management to be put in place
What are losses and gains in a sediment budget?
losses - sediment deposited in sinks e.g. spits, bars, sand dunes
Gains- coastal erosion (sediment broach by rivers, cliffs and offshore sources
How permanent are sinks?
dependant on time scale as overtime can be destroyed by sea rise and storms
Sediment budget seeks dynamic equilibrium but never has it due to these above as they change the amount of sediment in a cell
Examples of cells
Christchurch bay (cell 4)
Holderness coast (cell 2)
Happisburg (cell3)
What is a cost-benefit analysis?
A cost-benefit analysis is a systematic approach to estimating the strengths and weaknesses of alternatives, used to determine options that provide the best approach to achieving benefits while preserving savings.