soft engineering

soft engineering

1. beach nourishment

   • the addition of and shingle to the existing beach to make it bigger. Usually taken from a nearby seabed
     • cheap and easy to maintain
     • looks natural
     • increases tourist potential
     • effective in absorbing energy from waves
     • constant maintenance needed due to longshore drift depleting the beach
     • need groynes built as well (can be costly)

2. cliff regrading

   • cliff regrading reduces the angle of the cliff so increases stability. often involves drainage of the cliff as well
     • regrading the cliff does lead to cliff retreat (home owners and local governments might therefore oppose this)
     • works on soft rocks when other methods are ineffective
     • drainage is cost effective
     • can look natural
     • drained cliffs may dry out and crumble (mass movement)

3. dune stabilization

   • marram grass is used to stabilise sand dunes and are sometimes fenced off from humans to avoid newly planted areas
     • maintains natural environment
     • important to wildlife and habbitats
     • cheap and sustainable
     • time consuming to plant marram grass
     • people may not like keeping off certain areas / will go on them anyway