Holderness Coast Flashcards
(21 cards)
what and where is the Holderness Coast?
Fastest eroding coastline in Europe and is located on the East Coast of England
What are the predicted impacts of climate change on the Holderness coast?
Rising sea levels and erosion
Increased Storm Frequency
Impact on Biodiversity
Eustatic Change
How does climate change exacerbate eustatic change?
Increases global warming which catalyses processes such as thermal expansion and glacial melt
What does the IPCC estimate?
IPCC estimate that sea levels are rising by 4mm per year and by 2100 could reach 1m per year
Why would a rise is sea level threaten the Holderness Coast?
Increases the base height of waves which would lead to more intense undercutting and cliff retreat
How fast are some places in Holderness eroding?
Some parts are already eroding 1.8m a year with some places in Great Cowden eroding 10m per a year
Why is coastal erosion such a large issue?
Threatens socio-economic livliehoods as seen in Golden Sands Holiday park where they have lost almost 100 chalets, reducing business revenue
What could be done to stop coastal erosion?
Implementation of coastal defences such as in Mappleton where they spent £2 million building groynes and other defences
Were the groynes in Mappleton successful?
Let to sediment starvation further down the coast, protecting Mappleton but threatening other places and disrupts the natural sediment cycle.
How does increasing storm intensity shape the Holderness Coast?
Leads to the formation of more destructive waves, leading to less depositional landforms such as sandunes and increasing the formation of erosional landforms such as stacks, arches, caves etc.
How does increased storm intensity threaten the Holderness Coast?
Reduced the deposition of sediment on beaches such as Withernsea and Hornsea which has led to beach retreat as the destructive waves from storms have a stronger backwash. This threatens towns dependent on tourism such as Bridlington
Why is the Holderness coast so vulnerable to erosion?
Geology consists of soft boulder clay
exposed to a long fetch from the North Sea with destructive waves
Rapid coastal retreat
Why does Holderness need to be protected?
Settlements such as Mappleton, Hornsea and Withernsea
Vulnerable infrastructure such as B1242 road
Easington gas terminal which processes 1/3 of UK gas imports
Farmland
What was the cost of the Mappleton coastal defense?
£2.1 million
What did the Mappleton scheme involve?
Two rock groynes
(61,000 tonnes of granite from Norway)
Was the coastal management in Mappleton successful?
Contributed to beach buildup south of groynes protecting village
reduced erosion to less than 0.1m/year
But increased erosion further down the coast (Great Cowden) due to sediment starvation and terminal groyne syndrome
Why were coastal defenses established in Withernsea
Tourist resort with high economic value
What coastal defenses were established in Withernsea?
Recurved sea wall to deflect wave energy
Rock armour and groynes
How much did the Withernsea coastal defences cost?
£6.3 million
What coastal defense policy was adopted at spurn point and why?
Managed retreat policy
expensive to maintain and coastal management interfered with natural processes
What coastal defense was built in Easington?
Rip-rap but no coastal defenses for Easington town raising equity concerns
