AS Geography coast case studies

St Bees, Cumbrian coastline- 

Sandstone and glacial till, sedimentary stone and glacial till is quickly eroding.

Cornwall, Cornish coastline, South west England-

High energy coastline, mainly Basalt, resistant igneous rock, steep cliff due to hard rock.

Holderness coastline-

Fastest eroding coastline in Europe, Boulder clay, glaical till, chalk, permeable

Robin hoods bay, coast of north yorkshire-

Sedimentary mudstone, easily erodable which is causing the bay, limestone and mudstone

Emergent landforms:

Fife Scotland which has raised beaches due to its emergent coastline

Ayrshire Scotland which has a fossil cliff due to its emergent coastline

Submergent landforms:

Kingsbury Estuary England which has Rias due to its submergent coastline

Milford Sound New Zealand which has Fjords due to its submergent coastline

Dalmation coast Croatia which is a dalmation coast due to its submergent coastline

Beaches-  Gently sloping beaches are formed by strong destructive waves that backwash more material away from the beach than they swash up the beach, areas of sand, pebbles and shingle that are formed by deposition produced by wave processes, sandy beaches are most comonly gently slopin beaches. Steeply sloping beaches occur by constructive waves that swash more material up the beach than they backwash away, building up a steep gradient normally shingle beaches because waves easily flow through the coarse, porous surface of the beach decreasing the effect of backwash.

An example of a steeply sloping beah is shingle beaches in Somerset England.

An example of a gently sloping beach is sandy beaches in Hornsea.

Spits and Bars-  Wherever there is a break in the coastline the material is deposited closest to the shore due to loss in velocity meaning material is dropped. Eventually the material builds up out into the sea in the form of a spit and often curves inward towards the land as a result of prevailing wind directing the waves which push the sediment in towards the shore. Created by the process of longshore drift some material ends up caught up in the waves and is carried by the sea along the coastline in cells known as littoral cells. For example the spit at Spurn Head

If a spit extends from headland to headland then a bar will be formed, spits often have salt marshes build up behind them because the spit offers protection from the stronger waves and the wind, allowing saltt tolerant plants to grow

Kiribati- middle of pacific ocean and composed of 33 coral atolls 60% of population under 30 could be the last on the island. Tarawa- sea level 3m, most people live their due to being moved from their homes. Flooding affecting water supply and causing people to relocate and preparing them to leave and get skills training in Australia. Figi has offered help , mangroves have been planted to try and stp the flooding as they trap sediment, they have no carbon emissions

Netherlands-  Making their own isalnds, people forced to move and homes knocked down,giving land to the water and giving the river more space means its less likely to flood.

South China- 25% farmland lost due to rising sea levels, 2m gone each year and 250 locals forced to move, farmers forced to sell fish instead, 70% of Chinas coast prone to erosion, forest that once protected the sea levels are now dead and have fallen down.

Coastal erosion was estimated to occur over 134km spread along the Dutch coast. Large sections od he Dutch coast have been eroding for centuries at some locations resulting in a retreat of 5km in four centuries.Sand nourishment has been a common measure to combat coastal erosion in the Netherlands since the end of the 1970's. In some parts of New Zealand it is qite possible that erosion will be balanced by the rate at which sediment is supplied. 

Rising sea levels threaten almost everyone in the country and 97% of the inhabited islands are experiening coastal erosion, risk that money is spent helping the capital city and not helping the others which can lead to conflict. Mangroves for the future has been introduced to plant mangroves in the maldives in order to try and prevnt erosion. The Global Environmental facility has provided small grants to islanders in order to try and help them develop sustainable and organic farming as an alternative food and income source to coral reef fishing. The japanese government has funded mangrove nurseries on the maldives so that damaged mangrove areas can be replaced.