Summary of coasts case studies

Where are the Sundarbans?

Antwoord: Coastal zone occupying worlds largest delta in Southern Bangladesh and India - Bay of Bengal

What rivers is the Sundarbans delta formed by?

Antwoord: Material deposited by Ganges, Brahmaputra and Menga rivers

What is mangrove forest?

Antwoord: Type of forest found in tropical areas - trees are adapted to live in salt water, Sundarbans are part of largest mangrove forest in the world, Mangrove forests can die when tidal inundation occurs too frequently or lasts too long

What is the land like in the Sundarbans?

Antwoord: Flat and low lying intersected by thousands of channels many containing small sandy islands - average elevation is less than 1m above sea level

What kinds of rare organisms live in the Sundarbans?

Antwoord: Orchids, white-bellied sea eagles, Royal Bengal tigers and Iranadi dolphins

How is the Sundarbans in dynamic equilibrium?

Antwoord: Material is deposited by river allowing the growth of forest, Is also eroded by the sea so the size of the sediment store remains equal

What has happened to some of the islands in the Sundarbans?

Antwoord: Frequently flooding = erosion = islands have disappeared, 2 islands have been eroded and submerged - 1000s of people have had to migrate

What would happen to the Sundarbans in the case of a 45cm rise in sea level?

Antwoord: 75% of sundarbans mangroves would be destroyed

How are storms effecting the Sundarbans?

Antwoord: Estimated that the serve cyclonic storms of the Bay of Bengal have increased by 26% over last 120 years

How has climate change impacted precipitation in the Sundarbans?

Antwoord: The monsoon season has been considerably erratic in recent years - monsoon seasons are predicted to become longer and more intense while drought conditions will become more pronounced

Give some background about the Holderness coast?

Antwoord: Coastline = 61km from Flamborough Head to Spurn Head, Softer boulder clay, One of Europe\'s fastest eroding coastline

How is erosion at play on the Holderness coastline?

Antwoord: Soft boulder clay = easily eroded, average rate = 1.6m/year but at Great Cowden = 10m/year bc groynes above it at Mappleton

How is transportation at play on the Holderness coastline?

Antwoord: -Prevailing winds from northeast transport material southwards -Rapid erosion therefore large input into sediment cell

How is deposition at play on the Holderness coastline?

Antwoord: Occurs in the south - Humber estuary

Why is the Holderness coastline worth managing?

Antwoord: -Tourism eg. Hornsea and Withernsea = seaside resorts -Agriculture - 80,000m squared of farmland lost a year -Lots of SSSIs eg. lagoons near Eastington = habitat for birds -Infrastructure eg. Eastington gas terminal only 2.5m for cliff edge

How is Holderness protected by an SMP?

Antwoord: Variety of approaches across different areas eg. in the north = do nothing for all time frames bc chalk cliffs and major settlements = far inland therefore wont be impacted for 100s of yrs

What are some of the challenges with the Holderness SMP?

Antwoord: Climate change, hold the line/do nothing = unpopular with people + managing areas differently = conflict