Q.1
Marram grass is a pioneering species. How does planting marram grass on sand dunes help reduce coastal erosion?
  • The grass makes the area more attractive to tourists bringing money into the area
  • Marram grass is so tough it can be driven over and won't die. This gives a tough top surface to the sand dunes allowing traffic to move over them
  • Animals avoid marram grass and so don't graze on the sand dunes. The grazing would mean that the animals carry sand away as they move across the system
  • The marram grass stabilizes the sand dunes and allows the cycle of beach succession to occur rather than the dunes blowing away and being transported along the coast
Q.2
Why might some people argue against hard engineering projects to protect small hamlets and villages that are in danger of being lost due to coastal retreat?
  • The cost of the protection may outweigh the benefits of saving those houses
  • They don't believe that coastal protection works
  • They think the natural environment is more important than the land that is lost
  • They think the new land being created is more important
Q.3
Tourism is a key feature of many coastal areas. But some coastal areas, such as sand dunes, are sensitive to erosion as people walk over them. How can local interest groups help prevent this erosion of sand dunes?
  • Prevent people visiting the dunes
  • Build boardwalks and attempt to focus the foot traffic in those areas
  • Increase the number of animals, such as sheep, on the dunes
  • Prevent longshore drift using hard engineering techniques
Q.4
One method often used to help control coastal erosion involves replacing material that is eroded away by wave action and longshore drift. What is this method known as?
  • Beach management
  • Erosive replacement
  • Managed retreat
  • Boulder barriers
Q.5
When material that is moving along the beach due to longshore drift meets an obstacle, it can build up and form a protective barrier. To help this occur local authorities will often build wooden barriers at right angles to the beach. What are these barriers known as?
  • Groins
  • Sea walls
  • Sand traps
  • Weirs
Q.6
Which of the following is an advantage of hard engineering to prevent longshore drift moving material?
  • Land further along the coast may suffer from increased erosion
  • Hard engineering solutions are often more expensive than the land they are saving
  • Offshore features such as sand banks and spits may vanish
  • The land and property in the immediate area are protected from coastal retreat
Q.7
Which of the following is an example of soft engineering to help manage coastal retreat?
  • The Thames Barrier
  • Creating salt marshes
  • Building groins
  • Building sea walls
Q.8
Which of the following is an advantage of placing groins on a beach?
  • Groins can be unattractive
  • Groins are costly to build and maintain as they often erode and are attacked by wood-boring animals
  • Groins can increase erosion downstream
  • Groins allow a beach to build up against their structure
Q.9
Which of the following is a way that sea walls are designed to protect a part of the coastline?
  • The curve of the wall reflects the wave energy back out towards the sea
  • The wall diverts the sea onto low lying land away from settlements
  • The solid nature of the wall protects softer material behind
  • The height of the wall helps stop storm waves flooding vulnerable settlements
Q.10
Exam questions often refer to managed coastal retreat, and in your case studies you will have seen this key term used. What does managed coastal retreat actually mean?
  • Local authorities knock down sea defenses and dig channels to allow the sea to reclaim the area
  • Houses are removed from areas near the coastline and the coastline is abandoned
  • Areas of the coast are allowed to erode and flood naturally
  • Only soft engineering techniques are used
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