Crowded Coasts

Coastalisation is the movement of people to coastal areas. This could put more people at risk from higher sea levels and erosion Can cause more conflict as more development my spoil the location Puts pressure to provide more jobs and housing

CASE STUDIES: Australia Four main factors causing coastalisation: Recent droughts have made farming hard so young people are leaving the land to work in service jobs on the coast e.g. tourism New immigrants usually move automatically to the coasts Coastal towns offer outdoor lifestyle as well as urban attractions- best of both. House prices are cheaper so for young families this is attractive

Spains Costa Geriatrica Population on Mediterranean coasts has increased by 1.2% a year since 2000 caused by inward migration Types of migrants: o International migrants retiring (in 2005, 22% along coasts were 65+) o Families moving from inland cities

Florida 75% live along coast Value of property along coast- $1.9 trillion Inward migrant of families and retirees Costs of population growth o 9% live less than 2 metre above sea level- very dangerous for hurricanes and floods o Everglades wetland area already shrunk by 80%

Coastalisation- UK Bournemouth City is constantly growing with 6.4% growth between 1995 and 2005. It is growing quickly due to inward migration. This migration is due to: Climate- UK second sunniest. High environmental quality attractive and near to World Heritage Site Accessibility- less than 2hrs by train to London. Local amenities available.

UK seaside resorts generally developed in the Victorian period as the railway system was introduced. More people came as average wages increased so the land developed with hotels and facilities. But after the 1960s, it became cheaper to fly abroad so UK resorts deteriorated. Bournemouth population declined from 154,296 in 1961 to 144,803 in 1981. But then it regenerated in the 1980s attracting more people as journey time was shorter and it created new employment and built an airport. Economic Boom: Service sector has increased with many working in banking, finance and tourism. 18,300 people working in financial institutions by 2003. JP Morgan Chase, Barclays Bank, Abbey Life etc. o These industries are footloose meaning they can work anywhere as they are not tied down to resources.

Companies have been attracted to the area because Land is available for development House prices are lower so people can afford bigger properties Wages are lower so cheaper to employ Easy access to London and other European cities Skilled graduates from university

Population Retirees are attracted as there are many facilities including day centres and social activities. However overall, Bournemouth retains a youthful population due to its university. Future growth There is coastal squeeze as the city is squeezed between the costs and rural areas inland. Bournemouth Council encourages the renovation of old buildings and to use brownfield sites. It aims to have 99% of residential development on brownfield sites including 12,000 new homes. Seafront has also been redeveloped with old hotels converted into flats ad student accommodation.

Conflict on the Coast Dorset Coast Ecology Studland beach and its sand dunes were formed by deposition of sand Site of Scientific Interest (SSSI) Dunes are home to rare plants, animals and birds. As one goes inland, the dunes change to shrubs of heather and gorse or trees like birch UKs first World Heritage Site

Geology Varies throughout Types vary between Purbeck limestone and less resistant clays and sands Tourism 30% of people work in tourism In Kimmeridge Bay, fossil collecting can damage area by trampling, stone turning as well as degrading and removing fossils. Limpet Protection Zone provides visitor education on how to reduce impacts on the shore.

Studland Bay Owned by National Trust 1.5 million visitors each year Area can be reached by car or ferry Problems from tourists: o Congestion o Littler which is dangerous for animals o Trampling of plants o Noise of water activities disturbs land and sea o Water traffic jams o Swimmers and dolphins threatened by motors

Boscombe New surf reef costing 1.4 million Development of reef, flats, restaurants, cafes and shops Reef could attract 10,000 surfers a year Council expects to earn 10 million annually

Industry on the water Southampton Water part of the estuary (mouth of river where it meets sea) of the rivers Test and Itchen it is a ria (flooded or drowned river valley formed from end of Ice Age as glaciers melted)

Advantages for industry: Sheltered from storms in English Channel Deep water channels for large ships Around estuary is broad area of land for development. Salt Marshes: Sediment of fine clay deposited by rivers Contain lots of marine species and birds Offer sheltered water for boats

Pressures:

1. Industrial development a. Fawley oil refinery i. 3000 people work there ii. Handles 2000 ships and 22 million tonnes of crude oil iii. Salt marsh has been reduced in size due to expansion iv. Liquid waste is a problem as high temperature so ruins food web v. Metal pollution- tin levels are very high vi. Oil spills (Oct 1989, 800 birds affected, beaches cleaned etc.) 2. Sewage disposal created by new housing and development a. Sewage pipes discharge 300 million litres every day b. Eutrophication c. Solid sewage like bottle etc. 3. Expansion of suburbs and villages due to growth of employment. Problem of where to build 4. Sailing and leisure craft Dibden Bay ABP announced proposals to build a new container port. Some people thought it offered a great economic opportunity whilst others feared it would ruin the environment and landscape. They wanted to make Southampton more competitive to prevent decline. Details: Would cost 700 million 9 years to build Capable of handling 6 container ships at a time 300 jobs would be created New access road built and rail link Negatives: Dibden Bay is a SSSI. Supports over 50,000 birds Traffic would increase Local homes would lose their views Increased fuel spills and risk environmental hazards

Coastal erosion is a great risk to people living near the coasts. Important factors like the geology, type of wave and rock arrangement make a difference to the rate of erosion. Waves can either be constructive or destructive: Constructive: o o o o sediment builds up Shallow gradient of sediment. 6-8 breaks per min Swash stronger than backwash

Destructive: o o o o o sediment removed Steep gradient of sediment. 12-14 breaks per min Backwash stronger than swash Causes hydraulic action, corrosion and abrasion

Rock arrangement can either be concordant or discordant: Concordant: rocks parallel to sea (creates coves and caves) Discordant: rocks perpendicular to sea (creates headlands and bays) Hydraulic action and abrasion can cause a crack to open up and form a cave. If it is enlarged and extends through to the other side of the headland, it can create an arch and if the roof part eventually collapses, it creates a stack which may eventually collapse to create a stump. Spits are long narrow beaches of sand or shingle that are attached to the land at one end. Tombolos are spits that have continued to grow seawards until they reach and join an island. Geology is important and can either be soft rock or hard rock: Soft rock: clay Hard rock: limestone, chalk

Sea can attack the bottom of the cliff slowly eroding it to create a wave- cut notch. The backwash carries the rubble to the sea creating a wave- cut platform.

Managing erosion Techniques: Do nothing Hold the line Retreat the line Advance the line- redeem land e.g. East Anglia

Integrated coastal management strategies manage sections as a whole rather than by individual villages and towns. The UK coast is divided into 11 sediment cells. -Each cell is self-contained in terms of movement of sediment -these sediment cells are divided into sub cells and SMPs are prepared for them Shoreline Management Plans -valid for 50 years -locals involved, engineers, etc. -cost benefit analysis used -environmental impact assessment used -will environment get better or worse due to plans SMP for Holderness: Hold the line in places of economic value e.g. gas pipeline terminal at Easington Do nothing in areas where its not worth protecting the coast from erosion

Hard engineering
- using structural methods -works against the forces of nature Disadvantages: High setup costs High maintenance costs Can cause bad consequences in later stretches Ugly- detract from natural beauty Potentially dangerous for kids like high walls

Soft engineering
-working with nature Advantages More natural appearance Less expensive than hard Sustainable

HARD ENGINEERING Technique Description Rocks or concrete. Deflect and reduce wave energy before they reach the shore Strengths Can be built from waste material Mimics the protective nature of reefs Simple Relatively cheap Quite effective Cheaper Simple Reduces energy of wave Low costs depending on material Easily repaired Cheap to construct Reasonably affective Weaknesses Deflect waves on new paths so damages other area Less effective on large scale

Cliff-foot and beach strategies

Breakwaters offshore

Embankments

Gabions

Rocks in mesh cages. Stacked to build walls

Groynes

Revetments

Rip-rap

Sea walls

Wooden/steel/rock barriers perpendicular to shore. Traps material being moved by longshore drift Sloping ramp across beach to take force of wave energy. Made of rocks, concrete etc. Large air spaces absorb wave energy Large rocks placed at foot of sea walls or cliffs. Permeable and absorbs wave energy Made of concrete Either straight (absorbs) or recurved (reflects waves)

Considered ugly by some Take up space If needed replacing, very expensive Starve beaches further down

Doesnt cope well with storm waves Considered ugly to some May shift in heavy storms expensive very expensive to build and maintain straight walls can be scoured insertions can weaken cliff does nothing to prevent rocks falling from dry cliffs only suitable for some types of rock uses up land space as retreating

Effective Cheaper than revetments Can look natural reasonably effective protects valuable or high risk property

Cliff face strategies

Cliff drainage

Inserting pipes to reduce landslides and slumping

cost- effective

Cliff fixing Cliff regrading

Iron/ steel bars stabilise cliff face and absorb wave energy Cliff angle lowered to prevent chances of collapsing

simple reasonably cheap works well on clay cliffs

SOFT ENGINEERING Technique Description Strengths Weaknesses

Beach re-profiling

Beach nourishment

Dune regeneration

Developing natural defences of coral reefs, mangroves Offshore reefs

Shape of beach changed to reduce effects of erosion Sand pumped from seabed to replace eroded beach Wooden structures to encourage sand deposition. Vegetation planted Provides defence against storm surges, erosion, flooding Mining waste or tyres fastened together and sunk. Acts like speed bumps

Relatively cheap and simple Natural looking

only works in lowenergy environments expensive needs constant replacing public access must be controlled

Effective if managed properly Environmentally friendly Cost effective Low technology

Can prevent development Untested but may have pollution implications

Example of erosion: Holderness Coast (northeast coast of England):

Suffers from fastest rate of coastal erosion in Europe 20-30 metre high cliffs Retreating at 1m a year, occasionally up to 10m Over last 2000 years, coastline has retreated 4km Destructive waves and eroded material is carried into sea so doesnt act as protection and some is carried by long shore drift to Spurn Head

Attempts to protect the area is very hard due to costs and forces of nature Main reasons for erosion at Holderness are: Geology The fetch Longshore drift and beach material

-Geology Made up of mainly chalk and boulder clay

-Fetch (how far the waves have travelled)

Holderness is exposed to winds and waves from the north-east which has a small fetch of about 500800km across the North Sea.
Size of the wave is increased by four factors: Currents- Atlantic current adds energy to waves of the North Sea so the waves are often powerful destructive waves. Low pressure weather systems passing over the North Sea are often intense and produce strong winds and waves. Enclosed seas like the North Sea often generate huge waves during storms so the waves slop against the cliffs Sea floor is deep so the waves reach the cliffs without being weakened by any friction with shallow beaches.

-Longshore Drift and beach material

Boulder clay erodes to produce particles which are easily transported out to se rather than accumulating close to the cliffs as beach sand. There are beaches but there is never enough sand to stop the waves reaching the cliff base at high tide Beaches are narrow and offer little friction to absorb the wave energy and protect the cliffs. Sand produced is taken southwards by longshore drift leaving cliffs hardly protected.

Managing erosion at Holderness Hard- engineering Wooden groynes at Hornsea -traps sediment carried by longshore drift. This protects the cliffs and town and the increased amount of sediment decreases the energy of the waves as there is more friction. However this meant that Mappletons beach had little sediment as it was trapped at Hornsea hence causing severe coastal erosion. By the 1990s, 4m of cliff per year was being eroded. Rock groynes at Mappleton -built in response to lack of sediment, cost 2 million -boulders of Norwegian granite laid out like groynes -cliff face was also re-shaped to make less steep and more stable. However this has caused erosion in Cowden, further on from Mappleton. Revetments at Easington -protects the gas terminal - consists of large granite boulders -the absorb the wave energy Sea walls at Withernsea -straight walls reflect wave energy out to sea and form a barrier to prevent undercutting. However after a time they are scoured and are undercut causing them to collapse. -recurved walls spread out the wave energy so reduces erosion at the base of the wall so last longer Withernsea replaced its straight wall with a recurved one costing 6.3 million. The cost benefit analysis proved it worthwhile as it has saved tourism and local property. However waves are noisier as they break against the wall and views have been restricted. Soft engineering Beach nourishment at Hornsea -creates a wider beach to protect cliff line -can be removed easily by wind and storms so has to be replaced often Coastal zoning -red lining identifies areas at risk of erosion which are not worth protecting so no developments can be built in that area. Managed retreat -policy where residents have to move. Homes can be demolished and built further inland with the help of the council -zones at high risk of erosion are refused planning permission for new buildings Flooding at Holderness: sea levels expected to rise 30cm by 2050- increases volume of longshore drift and causes increasing erosion.

Coastal Flooding Storm surges are caused by low air pressure which raises the height of the sea combined with onshore winds. Sea levels rising due to global warming due to ice caps melting and expansion of waters Tsunamis from earthquakes can also cause flooding Two types of sea level change: o Eustatic change sea level itself changes Occurs globally At end of Ice Age, ice sheets melted o Isostatic change Land rises Occurs locally Weight of ice causes it to sink then when it melts, it rises Build-up of sediment causes crust to sink

Example of storm surge: 1953 East Coast Venice Rise in sea level due to global warming Flooding on 200 days of the year Some say the extraction of methane gas in the sea off Venice is sinking it Worst natural disaster in Europe on 200 years Storm surge created by weather and tidal conditions 307 people died 24,000 houses damaged

Cotonou (Africa) Sea levels are expected to rise and will affect the whole area. Impacts such as: o Loss of fisherman camps and holiday villages o Poorer public health o Coastal erosion o Drinking Estimated that 195 hectares of land will be lost over the next 20 years Measures introduced: o Mosquito nets too prevent malaria o Ensure wider vaccinations o Desalinate water for drinking o Recycle rainwater o Could move key installations to safer areas to protect them like airports

Grand Isle, Louisiana Hurricane Katrina (2005) damaged it badly yet it has since redeveloped and is very popular. A lot of USA coastal areas are developing with expensive properties being built etc. but is it a path for destruction? Thames Estuary Water levels rising due to factors like higher sea levels, more storms, increasing tide amplitude, tilting of British Isles and settling of London on its bed of clay. Thames Barrage (1984) reduced flood risk and protected central London. Thames Gateway is in danger of flooding and has no protection.

Thames Gateway is to provide 160,000 new homes and by Southend-on-Sea, a new university campus, retail and night life venues and a new airport. Reasons to development: Economy is expanding so there is more demand for facilities in the area Severe housing shortage Thames Gateway had over 10% unemployment in 2007 so employment is necessary Low grade farmland so wouldnt be a loss to farm industry

What about flood risk? o o o o Even without development, 1.25 million people are already at risk of flooding London Climate Change Partnership estimates sea levels to rise between 26-86cm by 2080. Thames Gateway makes situation worse as there will be an increase in impermeable surfaces so greater risk of flooding and theres less nature to store water UK Environment Agency planning new defences such as floodwalls, plans to set aside reserves of land where flooding will be permitted