coastal management strategies

Question 1

sea wall

Answer 1

benefits - prevents erosion of the coast, also acting as a barrier to prevent flooding
costs - expensive to build and maintain - also creates a strong backwash that erodes under the wall

Question 2

gabions

Answer 2

benefits - absorb wave energy so reduce erosion - they are cheap and easy to build
costs - ugly and cage can corrode

Question 3

rock armour

Answer 3

benefits - absorbs wave anergy reducing erosion and preventing flooding
costs - boulders can be moved around by strong waves so need to be replaces

Question 4

groynes

Answer 4

benefits - create wider beaches which slow the waves, giving protection against erosion and flooding
costs - starve beaches further down the coast, making them narrower, leading to greater erosion

Question 5

beach nourishment

Answer 5

benefits - creates wider beaches which slows the waves, giving greater protection against flooding and erosion
costs - kill opganisms, verry expensive, has to be repeated

Question 6

dune regeneration

Answer 6

benefits - can create a barrier between land and sea and absorb wave energy, preventing flooding and erosion
costs - protection is limited to a small area - very expensive

Question 7

doing nothing - managed retreat

Answer 7

removing current defences and allowing the sea to flood the land behind - over time the land will become marshland, which protects the land from erosion and flooding - cheap and easy - crate new habitats - can cause conflicts like flooding farmland, which affects the livelihood and farmers and slatwater can affect existing ecosystems