Fieldwork Hypothesis

Question 1

What were the three hypothesis for our coastal fieldwork?

Answer 1

• Hypothesis 1: Active Management is creating the beach.
• Hypothesis 2: Without Active Management the cliffs wound undergo rotational slumping.
• Hypothesis 3: The wave-cut platform is created by erosion and transportation.

Question 2

Field Sketches

Answer 2

• Hypothesis 1: This management enabled the identification of where active management occurred. Also, where the beach had formed to identify a correlation.
• Hypothesis 2: This method allowed the identification of where active management occurred.
• Hypothesis 3: This allowed us to identify where a wave-cut platform had formed.
• Method: Each individual selected a vantage point at random at which to observe the beach. From the selected point, each person made a sketch of the landforms and features and annotated the drawing. This was repeated on the managed and unmanaged sections.
• Evaluation: Disadvantages: It was only done once. It relied on human observation making room for human error.

Question 3

Photo Annotations

Answer 3

• Hypothesis 1: This method enabled the identification of where active management occurred.
• Hypothesis 2: This allowed us to identify where rotational slumping was occurring.
• Hypothesis 3: It allowed us to identify where rotational slumping was occurring.
• Method: Each individual annotated the landforms and the features shown in a photograph of the beach. This was repeated on the managed and the unmanaged sections of the beach.
• Evaluation: It was only carried out once therefore meaning that it didn’t take seasonal variation into account. There was also potential for human error.

Question 4

Infiltration rate measurements

Answer 4

• Hypothesis 1: This method gave evidence to support the presence of the beach. Sand has a higher infiltration rate than clay therefore meaning a higher infiltration rate suggests that there was more sand.
• Hypothesis 2: This method gave evidence for the presence of a beach.
• Hypothesis 3: This gave evidence for the presence of a beach.
• Method: From a random point on the beach each group drew 15m transects perpendicular to the shoreline with 0m at the point which was closest to the sea. At 5m intervals each group measured the rate of infiltration into the beach.
• Evaluation: Disadvantages: It was only done once.
  Only one transect was measured on each section of the coast. It was chosen at random.

Question 5

Ground cover measurements

Answer 5

• Hypothesis 1: It gave evidence for the presence of a beach by measuring the percentage sand cover.
• Hypothesis 2: It gave evidence for the presence of a beach.
• Method: From a random point each group drew 15m transects and at 5m intervals each group measured the ground cover using a quadrant. It was categorised water, clay, sand, pebbles or rocks.

Evaluation: Disadvantages: It was only done once. Only one transect was measured on each section of the beach. It was chosen at random.

Question 6

Beach Profiles

Answer 6

Hypothesis 1: It gave evidence for the presence of a beach by measuring the incline of the foreshore.
Hypothesis 2: It gave evidence for the presence of a beach.

Method: Each group drew 15m transects and at 1m intervals each group measured the relative height of the beach.

Evaluation: It was only done once. Only one transect was measured. It was chosen at random.

Question 7

Wave count

Answer 7

Hypothesis 1: Constructive waves are associated with beach deposition whereas destructive waves are associated with erosion.
Hypothesis 2: Same as H1
Hypothesis 3: Same as H2

Method: Each group counted the number of waves that broke within a 1m section of shoreline over the course of over 1 minute.

Evaluation: It was only done once. The sample of 3 minute counts was not enough to be reliable.