Coastal hard and soft engineering method.

Hard engineering methods for coasts.

Coasts are dynamic and are changing.

HARD ENGINEERING- Expensive solution which involve altering the beach, environment. It is the controlled disruption of natural processes.	SOFT ENGINEERING- Managing the cost in a way that doesn’t harm the environment.
Groins- Stop longshore drift as they trap sediment. They harm coasts further down the coast. They cause deposition of material causing the deposition of material.	Managed retreat ·         Areas of the coast are allowed to erode and flood naturally. Usually this will be areas considered to be of low value - eg places not being used for housing or farmland. ·         The advantages are that it encourages the development of beaches (a natural defence) and salt marshes (important for the environment) and cost is low.
Sea wall- They act as a deflector-so they deflect the energy and force of the sea and push it back out to sea they are a great form of coastal defense. ( over years wall may begin to erode)	Gabbions(rock cage)- absorb the impact of waves however they need to be replaced
Rock armor- Absorb the energy of waves. Allows the buildup of a beach.(expensive to transport big boulders.) more aesthetically pleasing
Water breaker- concrete blocks places offshore break waves offshore and absorb the force of waves before they reach the cliff.