costal protection

hard engineering

soft engineering

these are methods human use to prevent or slow down erosion

rock armour

groynes

gabions

sea wall

A wall that reflects waves preventing erosion and flooding. They can be expensive

Rock filled cages. A wall of gabions is normally built at the foot of a cliff. Gabions abosrb energy and reduce erosion.

Boulders piled up high along the coast are called rip rap. The boulder absorbs wave energy and reduces erosion.

Groynes are fences built at right angles to the coast. They trap beach material transported by long shore drift . It gives protection from flooding and erosion.

managed retreat

dune regeneration

beach nourishment

dune fencing

sand and shingle is added to the beach to create wider beaches. it doesn't stop erosion but it protects the land behind.

SAnd dunes are good buffers to the sea and can stop erosion but they can be easely damaged so regeneration of the dunes is a common implementation to protect the costal feature

It involves letting some areas flood to become salt marshes. Salt marshes are effective barriers that can protect the coast

It involves positioning beaches to encourage new dunes to form and protect existing dunes.

​Hard engineering is a coastal management technique used to protect coasts,by absorbing the energy of waves, preventing erosion and flooding. They are highly visible man-made structures used to stop or disrupt natural processes.

Costal flooding

costal flooding

costal flooding results form

storm surges

storm tides

tsunamis

a rapid rise in sea level caused by really low-pressure storms

occur when there is a combination of high tide and low-pressure storm

large waves resulting from underwater earthquakes

sea level rise

caused by global warming

Prediction

early warning systems are used to warn communities befor a flood

methods to forecast floods

records of past events

helps to identify the areas which are at a highes risk

modern technologies

GIS, satellite and computer monitoring, weather stations

will help the community identify when an event is going to ocur

It will forecast the potential strength and scale ofthe flooding

This willl alow the government to easely asses what damages the flood will do

Prevention

Prevention is about taking action that reduces or removes the risk of coastal flooding

Examples

emergy centers

early warning systems

education

planning

Flood defences

These are built along high-risk stretches of coast

Allows for preparation or evacuation of an area


warn people about the dangers and what they need to do in case of a flood

develop high reisk areas

designing buildings which can resist floods

buffer zones

areas that can be flooded befor reaching settlements

advantages

disadvantages

Most effective at preventing both erosion and flooding

restricts acces to the beach

can be damaged if the material is not maintained

expensive to build and maintain

not pleasent to look at

advantages

disadvantages

Creates wider beaches


relatively cheap

Slows down beach erosion


starves oter beaches of sand

wood groins need to be maintained

stops materials from moving down the coast which might have been protecting another cliff

disadvanteages

advantages

absorvs the energy from the wave very efficiently

cheap

heavy and expensive to transport

boulders can be easely eroded

advantages

disadvantages

cages absorb wave energy

Can be stacked at the base of a sea wall or cliffs


cheap form of costal defence

cages can be easely broken down

not as efficient as other costal defence

disadvantages

advantages

widens beach front

beaches absorb wave energy

Can impact sediment transportation down the coast

has to be done several time which is expensive

disadvantages

advantages

cheap

Hard to protect larger areas of coastline cliffs


cliff regrading

The angle of a cliff is reduced to reduce mass movement


disadvantages

Advantages

can slow down wave cut notching at the cliff

prevents sudden lost of land

does not stop cliff erosion

advantages

no expenive construction

create snew habitats like salt marshes

disadvantages

The cost of relocation can be expensive


Compensation to people and businesses may not be paid


Disruptive to people where land and homes are lost