Geography Fieldwork

No variation in pebble size with distance from the distal end of Blakeny Spit, Norfolk

Theory/Expectations

• Longshore drift
• Low energy waves
• Attrition

Primary data collection methods

Pebble size measured in mm length of 3 axis- usine pebbleometre could have used callipers instead but it would have been  much slower and less accurate.

This was quantatative data

• had our back to the quadrat so we couldn't see the pebble that we were going to choose.
• we threw the quadrat down and measured 30m from the sea once we had walked our 500m

Problems with primary data collection

•  grid 2mm on pebbleometre
• tide going out during the survey
• lack of accuracy with very small pebbles
• unable to measure the sand which was in the quadrat

Box and whisker plots

Why are they good?

• All survey points can go on one graph
• On a line graph, the (a) axis is misleading

How did we analyse the data?

• spearmans rank- significant relationship between size of pebbles represented by the median measurement and distance from the distal end of the spit (m).
• Has to rank the data.
• There was a positive relationship  (99%). 99% confident that it changes, 1% done by chance

previous students fieldwork-help to confirm that the pattern is not always 99%.

Further improvements 

•  bigger sample size
• reducing significance of anomolies
• 100m tape to measure the distance more accurately instead of pacing
• reduce survey intervals- 250m

Extentions

•  back in winter when the waves are biggest and we would also be able to see if it was seasonal
• compare to a spit somewhere else e.g. Orford Ness, Suffolk

• take your medication
• food and drink
• safety with getting off the boat
• 2 first aiders
• stayed 30m from waters edge
• suncream and sunhats

Why this location was chosen

•  Accessible-National Trust-open access
• Open all year
• Toilets atlifeboat house
• Regular ferry service
• Could leave minibus in the car park
• Secondary data- old maps. Able to see how spit used to look

Qualiative data- based on opinion

Primary data methods- based on observation. We said if it was rounded, sub rounded,well rounded, angular, sub-angular or very angular. We compared it tothe Powers Rounded Index