Investigating

Coasts

A Website designed for Geography education in Primary Schools.

Protecting Coasts

As as has been investigated, coasts are ever-changing landscapes, due to the processes of erosion, transportation and deposition which occur in coastal environments.

These processes, can cause problems in coastal areas, below are two main problems and ways in which we can protect the coast.

• Problem 1
• Problem 2

To learn more about these processes, visit the processes page or click here

1. Longshore Drift

The Problem:

Longshore drift moves beaches along the coast, leaving some areas without beaches.This occurs when the natural supply of beach sediment runs out. This causes a problem in areas where beaches are used for tourism.

How can the problem be solved?

Groynes can be used to stop the loss of beaches by slowing down the process of longshore drift. Groynes are man-made barriers of rock or wood built along the coast about 200 metres apart. They slow down the movement of sand or pebbles by catching the material to build up the beach and prevent it from moving down the coast.

Another way of solving the problem would be to use the method of beach-feeding, where the material that has been lost from the beaches is replaced. This creates beaches and protects the land behind it from the sea.

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Groynes

Beach-feeding

2. Coastal Erosion

The Problem:

Erosion of the coastline, caused by the power of the sea, causes great problems to the landscape and to seaside towns. The sea erodes cliffs along the coastline and this contributes to cliff collapses, such as that investigated on the human activity page (click here). Settlements along the coast are at risk of being lost to the sea because of erosion of the land. They are also at risk of flooding when the tide is high.

How can the problem be solved?

There is one main way of protecting the coast from erosion, and this is by using sea walls. Sea walls are man-made barriers which deflect the waves and stop them from eroding away the land or the base of the cliff. Seaside towns are often protected by strong sea walls. Sea walls are built behind the beach, so do not protect the beach from erosion, just the cliffs and land behind the beach. So sea walls need to be used as well as groynes to protect both the beach and the cliffs.

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Do you think we should protect the coastlines?Why?

Which ways of protecting the coastline do you think are best?