Case Study: Eastern Seaboard

Question 1

Problems of hard engeniering (6)

Answer 1

1. Hard methods = ineffective
2. Sea walls and other hard engineering methods only protect buildings, not the beaches (e.g: Beach in Galveston was lost in the hurricane in 1900
3. Sea walls fail in Texas, South Carolina, California due to poor maintenance and construction
4. Marshfield,Massachusetts and Monmouth Beach, New Jersey = gone
5. Rising sea level makes seawall not effective
6. People disliked the ugly sceneries

Question 2

Factors leading to a rise in sea level (3)

Answer 2

1. Flat topography of the coastal plains (rise of few mm/year can push the ocean a meter in land in Florida)
2. North American coast is sinking relative to ocean (e.g NY = 1.5mm/year)
3. Extensive coastal development

Question 3

Alternative for hard (6)

Answer 3

1. Strategic retreat (allow erosion)
2. Land use management (Engineers stopped challenging nature, now work with natural process
3. The Massachusetts Wetlands Protection Act limits building on coastal land
4. Ban sea walls to control erosion on coastal dunes (sea walls prevented the supply of sand to the dunes)
5. North Carolina banned hard engineering methods like groyne or rock strong points since the beaches are major assets to the state
6. 1986 doubled the distance from sea for large building

Question 4

Alternative: Beach replenishment (1-(1-2)

Answer 4

1. Atlantic City, Virgina, Miami Benefit: A compromise b/w building defenses and leave shore to erode

Draw back

1. Cost: 1980 US spent $64m on beach replenishment in Miami
2. Loss of new sand: Erosion removed 30m of sand where sand was extracted to keep the beach stabilised at 60m wide

Question 5

Conclusion (3)

Answer 5

1. Rising sea level and retreating coasts = continuing issue
2. Protective hard engineering for major coastal cities like New York (since they’re economically important –> can’t retreat)
3. Soft engineering in less developed area (Carolina Beach, North Carolina)