The Isle of Wight
How is the coastline protected?
Hard Engineering
Why are the called hard engineering?
Hard engineering options tend to be expensive, short-term options. They may also have a high impact on the landscape or environment and be unsustainable.
Sea Wall​
A sea wall is built at the edge of a cost line, the cost of a sea wall is estimated £5000 to £10,000 per linear meter. The advantages of a sea wall are that it protects the base of cliffs, land and buildings against erosion as well as preventing coastal flooding in some areas. The disadvantages are that they are expensive to build, sea walls reflect energy off the waves back to the sea. This means that the waves remain powerful. Over time the wall may begin to erode. The cost of maintenance is also high.
Groynes
​They are a wooden barrier built at right angles to the beach. They cost around £5000 to £10,000 per linear meter. The advantages are that it prevents the movement of beach material along the coast by long-shore drift and allows the build-up of a beach, it is a natural defense against erosion and an attraction for tourists. However, the disadvantages are that they can be seen unattractive and are costly to build and maintain.
Rip Rap
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​Rip Rap are a wooden barrier built at right angles to the beach. They cost around £5000 to £10,000 per linear meter. The advantages are that it prevents the movement of beach material along the coast by long-shore drift and allows the build-up of a beach, it is a natural defense against erosion and an attraction for tourists. However, the disadvantages are that they can be seen unattractive and are costly to build and maintain.
Gabions
Are a cage, cylinder, or box filled with rocks, concrete, or sometimes sand and soil. They cost £28 per cubic yard. The advantages are cheaper than most other coastal defenses and the cages absorb the wave energy. The disadvantages are that the wire cages can break and they need to be securely tied down and it is not as efficient as other coastal defenses.
Revetment
Is a retaining wall or facing of masonry or other material, supporting or protecting a wall or cliff. It can cost from £2000 to £50,000 per 100m frontal length depends how long you want it to live for. The advantages are that it is normally acceptable to the public and is less expensive than seawalls or groyns. The disadvantages are that it has a limited life (5-30 years) especially when exposed to waves, can be visually intrusive.
Soft engineering
Why is it called soft engineering?
Soft engineering options are often less expensive than hard engineering options. They are usually more long term and, with less impact on the environment.
Beach management
This replaces beach or cliff material that has been removed by erosion or long-shore drift.The advantages are that beaches are a natural defenses against erosion and coastal flooding as well as beaches also attract tourists.It is a quite inexpensive option but requires constant maintenance to replace the beach material as it is washed away.
Cliff Regrading
Cliff regrading is restructuring the face of a cliff to make the gradient less steep. Advantages are that it reduces the risk of slumping and looks very natural. The disadvantages are that it might not work and does not stop erosion. Once it is done to keep it maintained the cost could be between £5000 to £50,000.
Do nothing
If you don’t protect it in any way, then it will erode the cliffs not only tat but it will affect the human geography. For example, roads, will fall as well as buildings. This would fall, it could even hit a person or even close a beach which would reduce the number of tourists because of the safety
Some extra :
Hold the line - Where existing coastal defenses are maintained but no new defenses are set up.
Advance the line - New defenses are built further out in the sea in an attempt to reduce the stress on current defenses and possibly extend the coastline slightly..
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