AQA GCSE Geography · 3.1.3

Coastal management

50 revision questions with answers for 3.1.3 Coastal management in AQA GCSE Geography (spec 8035). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below. Not official AQA material.

All 50 questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Why are coastlines managed?
Answer:
To protect homes, businesses, farmland, roads and tourism from erosion and flooding, and to protect wildlife habitats. The cost of management is weighed against the value of what is protected.
Question 2 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What are the four Shoreline Management Plan policies?
Answer:
Hold the line (keep defences), advance the line (build seawards), managed realignment (retreat to a new line) and no active intervention (let nature take its course).
Question 3 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Name the three types of coastal management in the specification.
Answer:
Hard engineering (artificial structures), soft engineering (working with natural processes) and managed retreat (coastal realignment).
Question 4 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is a cost-benefit analysis in coastal management?
Answer:
A comparison of the cost of building and maintaining a defence with the value of land, property and activity it protects. Only schemes whose benefits outweigh costs are usually funded.
Question 5 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Who is responsible for coastal management in England?
Answer:
The Environment Agency and local councils, using government funding and Shoreline Management Plans, with input from residents, landowners and conservation groups.
Question 6 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is hard engineering?
Answer:
Building artificial structures such as sea walls, rock armour, gabions and groynes to stop erosion or flooding. It is usually effective but expensive and often changes the look of the coast.
Question 7 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is a sea wall?
Answer:
A concrete or stone wall at the foot of a cliff or along a promenade, often curved to throw waves back to sea. It stops waves reaching the land.
Question 8 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Give the costs and benefits of sea walls.
Answer:
Benefits: very effective, long-lasting, reflect wave energy and give a promenade. Costs: very expensive to build and maintain, ugly, and waves can scour the base.
Question 9 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is rock armour (rip-rap)?
Answer:
Large boulders piled at the foot of a cliff or sea wall to absorb wave energy and protect the land behind.
Question 10 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Give the costs and benefits of rock armour.
Answer:
Benefits: cheaper than a sea wall, easy to build, lasts for years and makes a habitat for sea life. Costs: ugly, can be hazardous to walk on, and the rocks may be moved by storms.
Question 11 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What are gabions?
Answer:
Wire cages filled with rocks placed at the base of a cliff or along the shore to absorb wave energy and slow erosion.
Question 12 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Give the costs and benefits of gabions.
Answer:
Benefits: cheap and quick to install, flexible and drain well. Costs: short life as the wire corrodes, look untidy and give only limited protection.
Question 13 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What are groynes?
Answer:
Wooden or rock barriers built at right angles to the beach. They trap sediment moved by longshore drift, so the beach builds up and absorbs wave energy.
Question 14 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Give the costs and benefits of groynes.
Answer:
Benefits: build a wide beach, which protects the coast and attracts tourists. Costs: they starve beaches further along the coast of sediment, speeding up erosion there, and are fairly costly.
Question 15 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Why can hard engineering cause problems elsewhere?
Answer:
Structures such as groynes interrupt longshore drift, so downdrift areas lose sediment and erode faster. Defences can also simply move the problem along the coast.
Question 16 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is soft engineering?
Answer:
Using natural processes to reduce erosion or flooding, such as adding sand to beaches or planting dunes. It is cheaper and less intrusive than hard engineering but often needs repeating.
Question 17 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is beach nourishment?
Answer:
Sand or shingle is dredged from the sea or brought from elsewhere and added to a beach, making it wider so it absorbs more wave energy.
Question 18 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Give the costs and benefits of beach nourishment.
Answer:
Benefits: looks natural, cheap per metre and boosts tourism. Costs: sediment is washed away so it must be repeated, and dredging can damage sea-bed habitats.
Question 19 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is beach reprofiling?
Answer:
Bulldozers push sand and shingle from the lower beach back up to the top to restore a steeper slope that absorbs wave energy and reduces erosion.
Question 20 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Give the costs and benefits of beach reprofiling.
Answer:
Benefits: cheap, quick and keeps the beach natural. Costs: temporary, needs repeating after storms and disturbs wildlife.
Question 21 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is dune regeneration?
Answer:
Dunes are rebuilt and protected by planting marram grass, fencing off areas and creating paths or boardwalks, so dunes absorb waves and give a natural barrier.
Question 22 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Give the costs and benefits of dune regeneration.
Answer:
Benefits: cheap, natural, provides a wildlife habitat and defends the coast. Costs: slow to establish, needs public cooperation and may restrict access.
Question 23 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Why is soft engineering often seen as more sustainable?
Answer:
It works with natural processes, has less visual and ecological impact and usually costs less. But it may not give enough protection in areas with high-value assets.
Question 24 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is managed retreat (coastal realignment)?
Answer:
Allowing the sea to flood or erode areas of low-value land by removing defences, often creating salt marsh. A new line of defence is built further inland.
Question 25 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Give the costs and benefits of managed retreat.
Answer:
Benefits: cheaper in the long term, creates salt marsh and wildlife habitat, which absorbs wave energy, and is more sustainable. Costs: land is lost, landowners need compensation and people may object.
Question 26 · Spec 3.1.3.2
How does salt marsh reduce coastal flood risk?
Answer:
Mud and vegetation slow waves and trap sediment, absorbing energy before it reaches the new defences. They also provide habitat for wading birds and fish.
Question 27 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What is coastal squeeze?
Answer:
Habitats such as salt marsh get trapped between rising sea levels and fixed hard defences, so they cannot move inland and are lost.
Question 28 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Why do landowners often resist managed retreat?
Answer:
They lose farmland or property and may feel compensation is too little, and communities worry about flooding, jobs and the changing landscape.
Question 29 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Case study: where is Lyme Regis?
Answer:
A small coastal town in Dorset, on the Jurassic Coast in Lyme Bay, south-west England. It has a historic harbour (the Cobb) and is a tourist town.
Question 30 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Why did Lyme Regis need coastal management?
Answer:
The town is built on weak clays and shales that slump. Waves undercut the cliffs, causing landslides that threaten hundreds of homes, roads and the tourist economy.
Question 31 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What was the management strategy at Lyme Regis?
Answer:
The Lyme Regis Environmental Improvements Scheme from the 1990s built a sea wall and promenade, then cliff drainage, soil nailing and rock armour in several phases.
Question 32 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Describe Phase 4 of the Lyme Regis scheme.
Answer:
Completed in 2015 at about £19.5 million, it built a 390 m sea wall and stabilised the cliffs at Church Cliff and East Cliff to protect around 480 homes for at least 50 years.
Question 33 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What were the positive effects of the Lyme Regis scheme?
Answer:
Homes and roads are protected, landslide risk is reduced, there is a new promenade and walkway, and tourism and the local economy are supported.
Question 34 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What conflicts or problems arose from the Lyme Regis scheme?
Answer:
The cost was high, construction disrupted visitors, the sea wall changed the natural look, and some feared it could reduce natural erosion that exposes fossils.
Question 35 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Why was hard engineering suitable at Lyme Regis?
Answer:
The town has a high-value built-up area and unstable cliffs, so soft options would not give enough protection. The benefits of protecting homes outweighed the cost.
Question 36 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Case study: where is Medmerry and what is the issue?
Answer:
A low-lying coast in West Sussex near Selsey. A shingle bank defended it but was repeatedly breached (for example in 2008), flooding homes, holiday parks and a water treatment works.
Question 37 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What was the management strategy at Medmerry?
Answer:
In 2013, 7 km of new clay embankments were built inland and the old shingle bank was breached, letting the sea flood about 183 hectares and form new intertidal habitat.
Question 38 · Spec 3.1.3.2
How much did the Medmerry scheme cost and what does it protect?
Answer:
About £28 million. It protects roughly 350 homes, holiday parks, a water treatment works and infrastructure serving thousands of households.
Question 39 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What are the benefits of the Medmerry scheme?
Answer:
Better flood protection, a new RSPB nature reserve with salt marsh and mudflats, wildlife, and more tourism, with defences designed for rising sea levels.
Question 40 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What conflicts arose at Medmerry?
Answer:
Farmers lost agricultural land and some residents feared the economy and house prices would suffer. The scheme cost much more than maintaining the old shingle bank.
Question 41 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Why was managed retreat chosen at Medmerry?
Answer:
The old defence was costly to maintain and often failed, the land flooded was low value farmland, and the new habitat compensated for habitat lost elsewhere.
Question 42 · Spec 3.1.3.2
How could you evaluate a coastal management scheme?
Answer:
Compare costs and benefits, who gains and loses, effects on neighbouring coasts, how long it will last, and its social, economic and environmental impacts.
Question 43 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Which strategy suits a town and which suits farmland?
Answer:
Towns with valuable property usually justify hard engineering to hold the line. Low-value farmland is often better managed by retreat or soft engineering.
Question 44 · Spec 3.1.3.2
How might climate change affect coastal management?
Answer:
Rising sea levels and stormier weather will increase erosion and flood risk, so defences will need to be higher and more costly, and some areas may have to retreat.
Question 45 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Compare hard and soft engineering.
Answer:
Hard engineering gives strong, long-lasting protection but costs a lot and affects the environment. Soft engineering is cheaper and more natural but less strong and needs repeating.
Question 46 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Why is it difficult to protect the whole coastline?
Answer:
The UK coast is long and the cost is too high, so only places with enough economic value can justify defences.
Question 47 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Who are the stakeholders in coastal management?
Answer:
Residents, farmers, businesses, tourists, councils, the Environment Agency and conservation groups, who often have conflicting interests.
Question 48 · Spec 3.1.3.2
How do sea defences affect tourism?
Answer:
Beaches and promenades attract visitors, but ugly or large defences, noise from building and restricted access can put some people off.
Question 49 · Spec 3.1.3.2
Why can sea walls increase erosion at the toe?
Answer:
Waves reflecting off a vertical wall can scour sediment from the base, lowering the beach and making the wall less stable.
Question 50 · Spec 3.1.3.2
What does sustainable coastal management aim to do?
Answer:
Protect people and property while working with natural processes, keeping costs affordable and protecting habitats for the future.

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