GCSE Coastal Landscapes 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What hard engineering technique places large boulders at the foot of a cliff to absorb and reduce wave energy?
- Rock armour (rip-rap) (Correct answer)
- Beach nourishment
- Managed retreat
- Dune regeneration
Correct answer: Rock armour (rip-rap)
Rock armour, also called rip-rap, uses large boulders piled at the base of cliffs or sea walls to absorb wave energy.
Rock armour is relatively cheap and easy to maintain, but it can look unnatural, be expensive to transport to the site, and sometimes gets in the way of beach access or fishing.
Question 2: What soft engineering strategy involves adding large quantities of sand or shingle to widen a beach?
- Beach nourishment (Correct answer)
- Groyne construction
- Sea wall building
- Gabions
Correct answer: Beach nourishment
Beach nourishment replaces eroded sediment, widening the beach so it better absorbs wave energy.
A wider, replenished beach acts as a natural buffer, dissipating wave energy before it reaches cliffs or property, though the process is expensive and needs to be repeated regularly as the new sediment also erodes.
Question 3: What hard engineering structure is built out into the sea, perpendicular to the coast, to trap sediment moved by longshore drift?
- A groyne (Correct answer)
- A spit
- A stack
- A sea wall
Correct answer: A groyne
Groynes are wooden or rock barriers built across a beach to trap sediment and widen the beach on the updrift side.
By interrupting longshore drift, groynes build up sand on one side of the structure, but they can starve beaches further along the coast of sediment, increasing erosion downdrift.
Question 4: What coastal management approach involves allowing an area to flood or erode naturally rather than building defences?
- Managed retreat (Correct answer)
- Rock armour
- Sea wall construction
- Gabion placement
Correct answer: Managed retreat
Managed retreat is a planned decision to let the sea reclaim land, often creating new habitats like salt marshes.
Managed retreat is a lower-cost, more sustainable option in low-value farmland areas, as it can create valuable wetland habitats and natural flood buffers, though it means the loss of existing land use.
Question 5: What soft engineering method involves planting marram grass to help stabilise coastal sand dunes?
- Dune regeneration (Correct answer)
- Beach nourishment
- Rock armour
- Groyne building
Correct answer: Dune regeneration
Dune regeneration uses planted vegetation, such as marram grass, to bind sand together and stabilise dunes.
Stabilised dunes act as a natural sea defence, absorbing wave and wind energy, but they can be easily damaged by trampling, so fencing and boardwalks are often used to protect them.
Question 6: What is a large, curved concrete or rock structure built along a coastline to reflect wave energy back out to sea called?
- A sea wall (Correct answer)
- A groyne
- A gabion
- A spit
Correct answer: A sea wall
A sea wall is a hard engineering structure, often curved, that reflects wave energy away from the coast.
Sea walls are effective and long-lasting but are very expensive to build and maintain, and the reflected wave energy can increase erosion of the beach in front of the wall over time.
GCSE Coastal Landscapes 2
What hard engineering technique places large boulders at the foot of a cliff to absorb and reduce wave energy?