Walton On The Naze 2012-13

LV Fieldtrip to Walton-on-the-Naze
The Hypothesis is: The coastal management at Walton-on-theNaze has disturbed the natural balance of the coastline.
Aims of the project

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. To investigate the coastal processes at work at two contrasting sites - North (unprotected) and South (coastal defences constructed). To identify and evaluate the coastal protection strategies employed at Walton. To classify the land use at both sites and to evaluate the appropriateness of the management techniques. To determine whether the coastal protection scheme has had a positive or negative impact on the local area. To ascertain how the hypothesis affects these key terms: Hard and soft engineering, managed retreat, natural balance and physical processes
Where is Walton-on-the-Naze?
Walton is 66 miles from Chigwell and has a population of 6,000 people.
Introducing the 2 sites at Walton-on-the-Naze
South Site - where there are a range of coastal defences. Why?
There is need for protection at the cliff top
North Site - where there are no coastal defences

Erosion here is more than 1 metre a year and if this rate continues the Naze will be eroded in approx. 100 years.
The management of the South site has interupted Longshore Drift processes at the North site. This has kept the beach at the North site narrow. How does this increase erosion?
Why is there no protection at the North site?
There is nothing worth protecting yet!
The Geology at Walton

Sands and Gravels
------------------------------Red Crag Sandstone -------------------London Clay
Sands and Gravels - around 100,000 - 10,000 years old and was laid down during the last Ice Age. Red Crag Sandstone - This was laid down during the Pleistocene era and was originally formed under the sea. The grains are large for sand and this suggests it was formed nearer the coast. London Clay - This rock type was laid down during the Eocene era around 65 million years ago. It was formed in a warm shallow sea and this suggests that Britain was nearer the Equator at this time! The particles are fine and this suggests the rock type was formed further out to sea. There are fossils contained in this clay.
The cliffs rise to a height of 77 feet above the sea, in the vicinity of the Naze tower, a listed building built in 1720 as an aid to navigation.
In 1961 the cliffs and the beach were designated an SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) under section 23 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act of 1949. The Naze has rare birds breeding on it and nests can be seen in this slide
Methods of Data Collection
A list of the methods of data collection used:

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. Observations Sketch diagrams Beach and cliff angles- clinometer, poles Porosity porosity can, beaker, stopwatch Particle size- finger feel test Vegetation types- type, height, % cover Height of wave- metre ruler Direction of Longshore Drift- cork float Frequency of waves- stop watch Land use map- Choropleth map Quality of Land- E.Q.I
How did we measure the beach and cliff angles?
How did we measure the porosity of the beach?
How did we measure the particle size?
At each ranging pole we measured the long axis of the material
How did we record the vegetation types?
At each ranging pole we recorded the type of vegetation found. Whether it was grass, mud, brambles, bushes, trees etc
How did we measure the height of a wave?
We used a metre rule to measure between a wave trough and a crest
How did we measure the direction of Longshore Drift?
We measured 10 metres and threw a block of wood into the sea. We timed how long the it took to travel 10 metres and recorded the direction.
How did we measure the frequency of the waves?
We counted the number of waves over 1 minute
Environmental Quality Surveys
Land Use Maps
What processes causes the North site to look like this?
Without protection these cliffs experience slumping and undercutting from wave processes. The beach is very narrow so the waves can easily reach the base of the cliff.
What is slumping?
It is the rotational collapse of a cliff by sub-aerial processes
A view of Slumping from the beach
An obvious bowl shaped feature formed after slumping
Sub-aerial processes are helped by the geology

Heavy and prolonged rainfall increases the amount of slumping
The permeable top layers allow water to enter them This water infiltrates down to the clay layer. -----------------------------------------------The water collects at the clay layer and it becomes very wet and unstable. Spring sapping is evidence which shows a great deal of water is in the cliff. This is a recent rotational slump
An example of Spring Sapping
Where water exits the cliff face at the junction between the Red Crag Sandstone and the London Clay layer.
Results
North Site Beach Results

Distance from sea Angle Particle size Porosity (secs)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35
3 3 5 6 4 6 7 8
clay clay sand sand sand/shingle sand sand sand/shingle
saturated 325 143 126 115 92 76 44
Distance from sea
South Site Beach and Cliff Results

Angle Particle size Porosity (secs)
0 3 sand 295 5 4 sand 206 10 4 sand 134 15 5 shingle 40 20 7 shingle 37 25 7 shingle 20 SEAWALL_____________________________________________ 30 9 mud 35 12 Short grass 40 14 Short grass 45 15 Long grass 50 18 Bushes 55 18 Brambles 60 18 Short trees 65 4 Grass (Path) 70 38 Brambles 75 38 Brambles
Wave Results
North South Beach Beach -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------Wave height in cms 75 70 Breaking distance (from shore in m) 4 2 Wave frequency (per minute) 18 18 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Longshore Drift Measurements
Results for the block of wood experiment

Moved Moved Northwards Landwards _________________________________________________________ North site South site 5.5 metres in 2 minutes 4 metres in 2 minutes Yes Yes
Coastal Management Strategies

There are 4 options available to protect the coast. The options are different when considering whether protection is against marine or sub-aerial processes. (a) Hard Engineering - examples include groynes, seawalls, rip rap, revetements etc (b) Soft Engineering - examples include encouraging vegetation, regrading of the slope, beach rebuilding etc (c) Managed Retreat (d) Do Nothing
Management of the South Site includes: Seawall Concrete Pathways Gravel channels Encouraging vegetation Rip rap Regrading of the slope Groynes Internal drainage
Seawall
Has access to the beach. Why is it at an angle?
Seawall also has drainage
Water from within the cliff can exit via the seawall into the sea.
Concrete Pathways
This is an attempt to reduce erosion by people. They encourage people to walk on the paths and not on the slope.
Gravel Channels
These encourage surface water to channel away down the slope and not infiltrate which may cause slumping.
Encouraging Vegetation
This has the effect of stabilising the slope
Rip Rap
This was built in 1998 from 300 tons of Leicestershire Granite. It cost 167,000.
It acts as a barrier to erosion.
Regrading of the Slope
This is reducing the angle of the slope which has the effect of making it more stable.
Groynes
These structures keep the beach in place by halting Longshore Drift. A beach can then help to protect the cliff by acting as a barrier to the waves.
Internal Drainage
This enables access within the cliff to pump out excess water therefore reducing the liklehood of slumping.
Erosion Processes
(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) (f) (g) Corrasion Attrition Solution Hydraulic Action Wave Pounding Sub-aerial Processes Man
Factors Which Affect The Rate Of Erosion

(a) (b) (c) (d) (e) Beach width Angle of dip Breaking distance of the wave Geology of cliffs Length and direction of fetch
Analysis of Results
Ask yourself the question -
What are the reasons for the results collected?

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LV Fieldtrip to Walton-on-the-Naze

Aims of the project

Walton is 66 miles from Chigwell and has a population of 6,000 people.

Introducing the 2 sites at Walton-on-the-Naze

South Site - where there are a range of coastal defences. Why?

There is need for protection at the cliff top

North Site - where there are no coastal defences

Why is there no protection at the North site?

There is nothing worth protecting yet!

The Geology at Walton

------------------------------Red Crag Sandstone -------------------London Clay

Methods of Data Collection

A list of the methods of data collection used:

How did we measure the beach and cliff angles?

How did we measure the porosity of the beach?

How did we measure the particle size?

At each ranging pole we measured the long axis of the material

How did we record the vegetation types?

How did we measure the height of a wave?

We used a metre rule to measure between a wave trough and a crest

How did we measure the direction of Longshore Drift?

How did we measure the frequency of the waves?

We counted the number of waves over 1 minute

Environmental Quality Surveys

Land Use Maps

What processes causes the North site to look like this?

It is the rotational collapse of a cliff by sub-aerial processes

A view of Slumping from the beach

An obvious bowl shaped feature formed after slumping

Sub-aerial processes are helped by the geology

An example of Spring Sapping

North Site Beach Results

clay clay sand sand sand/shingle sand sand sand/shingle

saturated 325 143 126 115 92 76 44

Distance from sea

South Site Beach and Cliff Results

Longshore Drift Measurements

Results for the block of wood experiment

Coastal Management Strategies

Has access to the beach. Why is it at an angle?

Seawall also has drainage

This has the effect of stabilising the slope

It acts as a barrier to erosion.

Regrading of the Slope

Factors Which Affect The Rate Of Erosion

What are the reasons for the results collected?

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