Coasts - Case Studies

Rising Sea Levels - Maltives

• Group of islands in the Indian ocean

• About 300,000 people

• 1.5m above sea level

• Completely submerged within 50-100 years

• Loss of tourism

• Disrupted fishing industry

• Houses damaged or destroyed

• Less freshwater available

• Loss of beaches

• Loss of soil

• Loss of habitat

• Have to build a large sea wall around their capital city - $60 million

• Change environmental policies

• Changes to long term plans including buying land from India and Australia

Rising sea levels (UK): East Anglia

• East of England

• Low lying

• Severe flood warnings

• Deaths from storm surges

• Homes worthless and destroyed

• Contamination of water supplies

• The Thames barrier will cost £80bn to be rebuilt

• Tourism lost costing the economy £5m

• Farmland lost

• 22% of the salt marsh will be lost by 2050

• Contamination of water supplies and soil

• Erosion of coastline

• Loss of habitat

• Larger storms

Coastal Erosion - Happisburgh

• Norwich, Norfolk

• Fasting eroding area in the world

• 1400 people, 600 houses

• Contains listed buildings and a lighthouse

• Long fetch

• Soft, non-resistant rock

• Permeable rock (Rotational Slumping)

• Long fetch

• Soft, non-resistant rock

• Permeable rock (Rotational Slumping)

• Homes lost

• A large church destroyed - 60m away from the sea. 2020 it will be in the sea.

• Deaths

• Property prices fallen - £80,000 to £1

• Farmland lost

• Cost of defences - approx £4m

• Tourism lost

• Economy destroyed

• Lighthouse damaged

• Habitats destroyed

• Migrating sand martins nest in cliffs – endangered

• Norfolk broads would flood, fish could become endangered

• Towns and villages lost - houses were worth £80,000 now work £1

• 25 properties and life boat station gone

• Rock armour

• Groynes

• Sea wall

• Revetments

• Managed retreat

• Rock reefs

• CCAG (Coastal Concern Action Group): Campaigning to protect homes, communities and livelihoods

• Cost of sea defences approx £4m for 500metres
• Council defended area in 2007, 5000 tonnes of granite rip-rap, £200,000
• Government refused to protect Happisburgh as it is less valuable than the cost of sea defences to protect it.

Coastal Management - Beesands

• South west, England

• At risk of erosion

• Hard Engineering

• Rock Armour all along the beach in front of buildings

• Sea wall in front of the main area of housing and buildings

• Gabions

• Window guards to protect glass in storms

• Drains outside their houses

• Flood alarms in each house

• Doorway protection

• Sand bags

Coastal Habitat - Dawlish

• Devon

• Spit

• Nature reserve

• Sand Dunes

• Salt marsh

• Fences

• Duck boards

• Signs

• Visitors centre

• Ponies

• Restrictions

• Groynes

• Gabions

• Education

• Mobile sand dune: to react to storm events

• Semi-fixed dune

• Dune slack

1. Sand dries out on a beach.

2. Wind blows the sand onto land.

3. Sand is deposited at the back of the beach.

4. Plants like Marram grass grow on the ridge of san and provide extra shelter for more sand.

5. The plants decay when they die and this mixes with the sand

6. Water cannot drain away because of the mix of sand and decayed plant. More plants grow.

7. Plants grow like gorse and bramble

8. Ponds form further away from the beach where the soil is wet

Managed Retreat - Wallisea

• Low lying island in Essex

• Formed by the River Crouch and Roach

• Creating new mudflats and salt marshes

• Protecting sea wall and land to the south

• Create new habitats for migrating birds

• £7.5 million

• Allow areas to flood and act like a sponge

• 3.5km stretch

• RSPB – migrating birds

• Farmers get compensation

• Visitor footpaths and cycle ways

• Protect land to the south

• Farmers will lose land and therefore their business

• North side was straight from west to east

• Had shallow beaches and wheat farmers land

• Transformed into marshland, mudflats, salt marshes, lagoons and fresh water streams.

Coastal Habitats - Studland Bay

• Beaches

• Dunes

• Heathland

• Sheltered from highly erosive waves

• Nature reserve

• Adders, grass snakes, sand lizards and slow worms

• Dartford Warblers (rare bird), shielducks and grebes

• Seahorses  (only place in Britain where the spiny seahorse breeds)

• Marram grass, lyme grass and heather

• Marram grass: Folded leaves to reduce water loss, long roots to stay stable in the sand and to take up water.

• Lyme grass: Waxy leaves to reduce water loss by transpiration

• Reptiles: Thick, scaly skin to reduce water loss. Also protects them from the rough terrain.