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A2			Coasts
			"Geomorphic processes are influenced by atmospheric processes, globally and within a region. A study of the processes involved in a geomorphic environment can be undertaken through the systems approach. The interaction between geomorphological processes, landforms and human activites needs careful management. Management strategies may result in costs and benefits and require evaluation." WJEC specification
			Case studies	Glacial	Arid	General geomorphology
Flickr pix			United Kingdom	Australia & US		Coastal management

DEFRA The former Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries has an overview of the UK national flood and coastal defence programme. http://www.defra.gov.uk You should be able to link to information on coasts from the marine, environment and water pages. http://www.defra.gov.uk/marine/index.htm http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/index.htm http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/water/index.htm Flood and coastal erosion risk management: "Flooding and erosion are natural phenomena and cannot be entirely prevented." http://www.defra.gov.uk/environ/fcd/default.htm

The Environment Agency has a number of articles on coastal issues including bathing water quality and marine & estuarine water quality. The best tactic is to use the search facility on this site for the latest reports (eg "Working with the sea instead of against it".) http://www.environment-agency.gov.uk

Sea Vision is the UK campaign to raise awareness of the sea, including the maritime sector in its widest sense. http://www.seavisionuk.org/

Scotland As ever, coastal issues come under a number of different Scottish Government agencies.

• Strategy to implement integrated coastal zone management (iczm) processes within Scotland (2004). http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2004/07/19639/40165
• SEPA bathing waters http://www.sepa.org.uk/data/bathingwaters/index.htm
• SNH Coasts http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/livinglandscapes/coasts/
• SNH Coastal erosion note http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/advisorynotes/36/36.htm
• SNH Managing coastal erosion http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/heritagemanagement/erosion/index.shtml
• SNH coastal geology http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/geology/scotland/coast.asp

OSS Coastal Scene World coastlines through satellite images. Concentrates on the Nile Delta, the Mississippi Delta, Po Delta, Betsiboka estuary, Nimrod Sound, Straits of Dover and Southern California. An introduction to the patterns of coasts and of deposition, and on why coasts are attractive to people. http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/oceancolor/shuttle_oceanography_web/oss_4.shtml

For more coastal landforms from space, it is also worth trying "Geomorphology from space". http://disc.sci.gsfc.nasa.gov/geomorphology/GEO_6/index.shtml

British Geological Survey The BGS is the world's oldest geological survey and is the UK's national centre for earth science information. Includes a guide to rock classification. http://www.bgs.ac.uk

Making Waves American multimedia teaching resource with sections on coral reefs, sea level rise and natural disasters. http://waves.marine.usf.edu/

Raffles Girls School Singapore school's field trip to coastal sites in Bali and Australia has pages with diagrams on the formation of cliff, headlands, bays and stacks. http://www.rgs.edu.sg/events/geotrip/geostudy.html

Coastal landforms on topographic maps (waves and currrents). http://www.csus.edu/indiv/s/slaymaker/Archives/Geol10L/landforms.htm If you have trouble finding this, go to the California State University, Sacramento, homepage and enter 'landforms' in the search box. http://www.csus.edu

Coastal processes explained using Stonebarrow (landslide), Chesil beach and Lulworth cove (animation sequence). http://www.swgfl.org.uk/jurassic/coastal.htm

Geonet All the basics on erosion and deposition, plus marshes and dunes. http://www.bennett.karoo.net/topics/coasts.html

Coastal Scenery for Higher Geography Basic notes for SQA exam from Learning and Teaching Scotland. Most of the material is taken from standard texts and the colour diagrams are reproduced as muddy greys. Essential starting point if you are doing this exam. http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/resources/e/nqresource_tcm4230130.asp

Coastal photos Free photo library from East Riding of Yorkshire - includes Flamborough Head, groynes at Hornsea, sea defences Robin's Hood Bay and erosion at Aldbrough. http://www.eriding.net/media/coast.shtml Also my own photos at Flickr showing coastal erosion processes at White Rocks, near Portrush in Co Antrim. http://www.flickr.com/photos/23351536@N07/sets/72157603829936518/

Coast BBC 2 series http://www.bbc.co.uk/coast/

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Coastal management

English Nature The four-year European project ‘Living with the Sea’ suggests that if we continue with ‘hard engineering’ solutions along England’s coast we will radically change the appearance of beaches for future generations, burdening them with spiralling costs for coastal defence, increasing risk to life and property and impoverished coastal wildlife. See http://www.english-nature.org.uk/livingwiththesea/

Making space for water Defra is consulting on proposals for a new Government strategy for flood and coastal erosion risk management in England. The closing date for responses is 1 November 2004. Download a summary leaflet (pdf). http://www.defra.gov.uk/corporate/consult/waterspace/index.htm

Are defences a good thing? A study says artificial sea defences could actually be speeding up the erosion of beaches - story from BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/norfolk/3691200.stm

Geofabrics Learn more about how hi-tech coastal defences are constructed. http://www.geofabrics.com/coastal.cfm

Gleeson More coastal engineering- includes Newbiggin-by-the-sea Northumberland. http://www.mjgleeson.com/water/coastal.html

Vanishing beaches The coasts of England and Wales are getting steeper, beaches are disappearing, and erosion of the coastline is accelerating. Guardian story. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1315830,00.html

Mapping erosion How Newcastle University is mapping coastal erosion. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/1475905.stm Newcastle's Centre for Coastal Management http://www.ncl.ac.uk/ccm/past_projects.htm

National Trust Policy notes on erosion and sea defences. http://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/environment/html/env_iss/papers/erosion01.htm

Friends of the Earth Briefing on habitat loss due to coastal erosion. http://www.foe.co.uk/pubsinfo/briefings/html/19971215150205.html

UK Biodiversity Habitat action plan for sand dune complexes. http://www.ukbap.org.uk/ukplans.aspx?ID=28

Implications of sea level rise for the UK Useful summary. A paper delivered at a conference in Germany in 2000 (12 page pdf - includes diagrams and map of flood risk areas). E Anglia case study. http://www.survas.mdx.ac.uk/pdfs/2volUK.pdf

Scotland's Coast Discussion paper. http://www.scotland.gov.uk/environment/coastalforum/scotscoast.asp

Shetland Coastal management summary from the council's structure plan 2001-16. http://www.shetland.gov.uk/splan/coa.htm

Suffolk Coastal District Council Flood policy website. http://www.suffolkcoastal.gov.uk/info/floodpolicy.html

Canterbury City Council The management of coastal erosion - complete with lots of diagrams of alternative types of coastal engineering solutions. http://www.canterbury.gov.uk/cgi-bin/buildpage.pl?mysql=704

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Case studies

United Kingdom

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Gallery includes coastal engineering at Scarborough and landforms at Pembroke. http://geographyalltheway.com/gallery/

East Fife A virtual guide to the geology of East Fife from St Andrews University. The rocks exposed on the coast south east of St Andrews belong to the Carboniferous period. They comprise thick sequences of sandstones, with shales and limestones, and represent sediments laid down in a broad river delta which was occasionally submerged by the sea. http://www.st-and.ac.uk/academic/gg/geo_html/main/table.html

Reculver Virtual field trip to Kent coast (site supported by Royal Geographical Society grant). Area stretches from Herne Bay in the west of the county to the Wantsum Channel in the east and features erosion and management. Photos, maps and notes. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drayner/recintro.htm History of coastal management and techniques. http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~drayner/coastman.htm

Droskyn Point Cameras at Perranporth, Cornwall, plus maps and photos from 1996. http://cil-www.oce.orst.edu:8080/pporth.html

UK Coastal zone Links to coastal forums, agencies and organisations. Regional page hosts portals to coastal information sites including SCOTcoast, ENGLISHcoast, WELSHcoast and IRISHcoast. http://www.theukcoastalzone.com/regional.asp

Happisburgh Campaigning website with photos and links to news stories. "The wooden sea defences built in the late 50s at Happisburgh, North Norfolk have been failing over the last few years, and large chunks of the sandy cliffs are regularly falling into the sea." http://www.happisburgh.org.uk/

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Australia & US

Australian coasts Marine and Coastal Directory of Australia. Good links to Australian organisations. http://www.ea.gov.au/coasts/

Victorian coast, Australia The Coast Kit. An educational resource looking at Victoria's coast (systems, human use, management). http://www.nre.vic.gov.au/coasts/coastkit/index.htm

United States Geological Survey (USGS) Coastal issues including management case studies. http://pubs.usgs.gov/circular/c1075/contents

CERES An environmental site for California which includes coasts. http://ceres.ca.gov

Coastal Erosion Field Trip Solana Beach to Del Mar, San Diego County, California, by Chris Metzle of MiraCosta College, Oceanside, CA. Designed as a preview or review or for those that cannot visit the field trip site owing to their distance from the location. http://www.miracosta.cc.ca.us/home/cmetzler/field_trip/intro.html

Coastal zone management A USGS site by Patuxent Wildlife Research Centre, Maryland. Concerned with managing coastal area for biodiversity. http://www.pwrc.nbs.gov/rescz3.htm

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