IGCSE-Coasts- Case study Minehead

Multiple Choice

• A

• B

• C

• D

Multiple Choice

• A

• B

• C

• D

Open Ended

​Lesson Objectives

​To describe the key methods of coastal management used in a HIC case study

To compare the advantages and disadvantages of different coastal management strategies implemented in HIC

To justify which coastal management strategy used in the case study was the most effective and explain your reasoning.

​Managed Retreat

Creating an engineered new position as it allows natural processes to take place 

Managed retreat is when a decision has been made to no longer follow a ‘hold the line’ strategy for maintaining the coastline

People are moved out, homes demolished and any sea defences are breached.

The breached sea defences allow habitats to be created by the formation of salt marshes and mudflats

​

• Helps take the pressure off areas further along the coast by reducing their risk of flooding

• Relocation of people to new areas is very stressful

• Short term costs may be high as relocation costs have to be paid

• Sometimes it is cheaper in the long run

• Enhances the local natural environment by creating new habitats

• Large areas of agricultural land is lost

Categorize

Options (12)

Adding sand to restore the beach after erosion has removed significant material

Regularly replenishing sand to make the beach wider and reduce wave impact

This method builds up beach sand to protect the coast from further erosion

Planting marram grass to help anchor sand and prevent it from blowing away.

Building artificial dunes to create a natural barrier against coastal waves

Using fences to keep dunes stable and prevent sand from shifting inland

Allowing certain coastal areas to flood naturally, forming new wetlands

Intentionally flooding land to restore marshes and absorb storm surges

Relocating defenses inland to let the coastline shift naturally over time

Redistributing sand on the beach to maintain its slope and reduce wave energy

Moving sand from lower beach areas to the upper beach to prevent erosion

Shaping the beach profile to absorb wave energy and protect coastal areas

Organize these options into the right categories

Beach Nourishment

Dune Regeneration

managed retreat

Beach Reprofiling

Open Ended

What should you do if none of those options are suitable?

​Do Nothing

Open Ended

Identify the differences between hard and soft engineering coastal management strategies (4).

​Lesson Objectives

​To describe the key methods of coastal management used in a HIC case study

To compare the advantages and disadvantages of different coastal management strategies implemented in HIC

To justify which coastal management strategy used in the case study was the most effective and explain your reasoning.

Open Ended

Describe the location of Minehead

​Minehead

​Minehead is a coastal town in Somerset, South West England, located on the Bristol Channel. It lies on the edge of Exmoor National Park and is situated at the foothills of the North Hill, giving it a picturesque setting. The town is approximately 21 miles west of Taunton, the county town of Somerset, and is connected by the A39 road.

Open Ended

Read through the passage and explain why coastal management was needed in Minehead

​Answers

​

• Frequent flooding, especially during storms.

• The town is a resort and relies on visitors. If the beach disappears, the visitors will stop coming, and many people would lose their jobs.

• The town has a harbour, and many homes are built next to the sea, but these homes get flooded frequently.

• The existing flood defences are not good enough, and the cost of clearing up after the floods is high.

• New sea defences are expensive to build but will save money in the long term.

​Stakeholders

​Stakeholders are any group or people that have an interest in a decision. Different stakeholders often have different priorities and want different things.

Open Ended

Who might be the stakeholders in Minehead?

Local Residents

Open Ended

What coastal defences would local residents prefer and why?

​Environment Agency

Open Ended

What coastal defences would the Environment Agency prefer and why?

​Tourists

Open Ended

What coastal defences would the Environment Agency prefer and why?

​Conservationists

Open Ended

What coastal defences would the Con prefer and why?

​Others

​

nterest group	Why they think Minehead should or shouldn’t have new sea defences?	Solution(s) they want	How much they are prepared to pay?

Local residents

Want new sea defences to protect their homes, jobs, and cars.

Tourists

Local government

Old defences need constant repair and are expensive to maintain.

Sea wall. Groynes. Rock armour.

Environment Agency

£7 million.

Conservationists

Don’t want any new sea defences; nature should take its course and create a new wildlife habitat.

Managed retreat.

Local businesses, e.g. Butlins

£3 million.

Labelling

1) Want a good sandy clean beach.

2)Nil, want someone else to pay.

3) Sea wall with promenade on top. Groynes.

4) Nil

5) Nil, want someone else to pay.

6) 3 million

7) Want to continue to make money and want the beach to be kept.

8) It is their responsibility to protect & enhance the coast.

9) Sea wall. Groynes. Rock armour.

10) Don't mind

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

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5

3

8

1

2

6

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10

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Interest group	Why they think Minehead should or shouldn’t have new sea defences?	Solution(s) they want	How much they are prepared to pay?
Local residents	Want new sea defences to protect their homes, jobs, and cars.	Sea wall with promenade on top. Groynes.	Nil, want someone else to pay.
Tourists	Want a good sandy clean beach.	Don’t know.	Nil, want someone else to pay.
Local government	Old defences need constant repair and are expensive to maintain.	Sea wall. Groynes. Rock armour.	£3 million.
Environment Agency	It is their responsibility to protect & enhance the coast.	Sea wall. Groynes. Rock armour.	£7 million.
Conservationists	Don’t want any new sea defences; nature should take its course and create a new wildlife habitat.	Managed retreat.	Nil.
Local businesses, e.g. Butlins	Want to continue to make money and want the beach to be kept.	Don’t mind.	£3 million.

​Option 1 and 2

​Option 3 and 4

Poll

Which strategy would you choose?

• Managed retreat

Open Ended

Give your reasons

​The solution

​

The Environment Agency developed a plan to defend the town and improve the amenity value of the sea defences. Work started in 1997 and the sea defences were officially opened in 2001. The total cost was £12.3 million, which represents a considerable saving on the potential losses due to storm damage. Minehead is now a good example of a managed bay. The main features of the scheme are:

• A 0.6m high sea wall with a curved front to deflect the waves. It has a curved top to deter people from walking on it and its landward side is faced with attractive local red sandstone.

• Rock armour at the base of the wall to dissipate some of the wave energy.

• Beach nourishment (sand) to build up the beach by 2m in height. This forces the waves to break further out to sea and provides an excellent sandy beach for tourists.

• Four rock groynes to help retain the beach and stop longshore drift moving sand to the east.

• A wide walkway with seating areas alongside the sea wall. This is popular with tourists and local people.

​The scheme has been extremely successful. Not only does it protect the town from storms and high tides, but it has also enhanced the seafront by creating an attractive beach environment. Option 1 was eventually considered unacceptable because it would have required too much long-term maintenance. It would have also needed the placement of groynes that were considered by the councils to be excessively long.
Option 2 was eventually ruled out because of its adverse visual impact and because it would disrupt disabled access to the beach.

Open Ended

Which stakeholders would be happy/unhappy about this decision?

Categorize

Options (18)

Council saves money due to less flooding and lower clear-up costs

Higher income from rates as businesses stay in the area.

Council gains support for meeting local needs.

Tourism businesses stay, keeping jobs and income for Minehead.

Homes are protected from flooding.

Beach improved for leisure and recreation.

Money spent on defences reduces funds for other needs.

Sea defences are costly to build and maintain (£13 million)

More visitors lead to a loss of peace and quiet.

Sea walls and rock armour have short lifespans.

Defences need regular maintenance.

Loss of natural beauty in the area

Natural habitats are destroyed by defences.

Groynes can increase erosion further along the coast.

Fishing is possible from rock armour.

Walkway with seating attracts locals and tourists

New habitats created in rock armour and near groynes.

Bigger beach created by the defences.

Organize these options into the right categories

Positive

Negative

Open Ended

Would you consider this a success?

​Lesson Objectives

​To describe the key methods of coastal management used in a HIC case study

To compare the advantages and disadvantages of different coastal management strategies implemented in HIC

To justify which coastal management strategy used in the case study was the most effective and explain your reasoning.

Open Ended

Use a case study to explain why coastal management schemes are needed along some parts of the UK coast (6)

​

You have to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of coastal management. 

Structure

• Intro – explain the difference between hard and soft engineering/ could also explain why it is needed – keep it brief 

• Para 1 – Hard engineering – describe the advantages and disadvantages – use at least 2 examples (sea wall, gabions, groynes, rock armour). Think about Social, Economic, Environmental, Political

• Para 2 – Soft engineering – describe the advantages and disadvantages – use at least 2 examples (beach nourishment, beach re- profiling, sand dune regeneration, managed retreat) Think about Social, Economic, Environmental, Political (slide 13)

Conclusion - To conclude you must decide which aspect of the question was the most important OR the greatest advantages/disadvantages

Open Ended

Evaluate the success of coastal management strategies in coping with coastal erosion (8)