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EROSION

COASTAL MANAGEMENT AT WINDANG AT WARILLA BEACH

HONGTU QUAN 10M

Page |2 AIM AND PURPOSE OF FIELDWORK The aim of this report is to identify the issue of erosion and the solution of it within the beaches Windang and Warilla Beach, both located in the southern area of Sydney, about 1.5 hours away. Spatial dimensions: Erosion has affects many beaches in the past such as the one in Bribie Island In Queensland. As seen in the photo below, it can be concluded that the fore dune is at least meters away due to the waves.

In Windang beach, it is not as bad because of the vegetation and sand dunes stopping the waves.

Ecological dimensions: Erosion has disrupted many habitats as land is constantly either been blown or washed away. This means that some animals lives have been endangered since they lost their shelter or food source.

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LOCATION Map of windang:

Transect1

2.3 cm : 100m

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Warilla Beach:

Warilla Beach

1.4cm : 200m

Page |6 FOCUS QUESTIONS 1. What are three issues that can be found in either Windang Beach or Warilla Beach? 2. What is the most important issue and define what it is? 3. What are the causes of the issue? 4. How is it affected these beaches? 5. Why is this issue important to focus on? These questions will cover there geographical issue in Windang Beach and Warilla Beach. 1. What are the three issues that can be found in either Windang Beach or Warilla Beach? There are many issues that can be discovered in Windang or Warilla beach, and that is erosion, deposition or shoaling and the endangered species of a species of bird; little terns. 2. What is the most important issue and define what it is? The issue within these two locations is coastal erosion. Erosion is a process where the surface of the earth is worn away by either of these characters: water, wind, or waves. The most common type of erosion that occurs near beaches or lakes is coastal erosion. Coastal erosion takes land from one area and deposits it into another location. Basically, it is a permanent loss of land within a specific shoreline. 3. What are the causes of the issue? The factors that cause erosion are categorized into two sections; man-made and natural. Man-made: There are many activities that humans have done that lead to the conclusion of erosion. Sand extraction from beaches, removal of coastal sand dunes and vegetation has increased the chances of erosion. Since there is no barrier to stop the waves from entering the shoreline, erosion occurs.

Page |7 The construction of sea groynes ports and breakwaters also play a part in the cause of coastal erosion. A groyne is basically a wall that protects a section of the shoreline from littoral transport; however it traps the sand, leading to erosion towards the downstream area. The longer the groyne or the more area it covers, the erosion is shifted further downstream. Natural: One of the main causes of erosion is the consistent increase in wave height, which influences the amount of energy that affects the shoreline. This is due to the fact that the angle of the wave alters or the frequency of the magnitude waves increases. There is an increase in sea level and wave height because of the melting polar caps in Antarctica due to global warming. Wave strength, which is determined by wind speed, also plays a factor. If the wave is too strong, it would obviously have enough energy to wash off more land to another location. Wind itself can also blow away large amounts of sediment from the shore. 4. How has it affected the beaches? Erosion has affected beaches such as Windang because it washes away land, therefore making the shoreline narrower. Sand also moves from one beach to another due to erosion. Waves also depend on the shaped of the shoreline. Depending on the outlining, the type of wave will change, hence eroding the beach even more. 5. Why is this issue important to focus on? Erosion is important to focus on because if we leave this issue as it is, beaches will slowly decrease in number. Soon, there would be harder any shoreline, hence less beaches. Erosion not only occurs in coastal areas, but basically anywhere. If we do not stop this issue, the houses on these shorelines, costing at least one million dollars due to the tranquil atmosphere, will be endangered. They will be washed away by the waves since there is no sand left. If erosion is not stopped in Windang Beach, these houses will perish.

Page |8 DATA COLLECTION, PROCESSING AND ANALYSIS Sources: A primary source is found at the scene at that exact time and place. This is usually very accurate because it is first hand and raw material. This is what was discovered during the excursion A secondary source usually is an interpretation of a primary source and sometimes is not as accurate. Secondary sources can be found online or in books and can be used as background knowledge Methodology: Our class utilized many different geographical equipment to gather data for out report. Our findings can be considered as primary sources due to the fact that we went to Windang Beach and collected information. Below is a list of the equipment our class used, along with their purpose and how they work. Thermometer: A different type of thermometer was used to measure the air temperature and the soil temperature. For the air, we used a normal thermometer however to measure soil, a soil thermometer was used. By plugging one side into the soil, there was a reading. We waited about twenty seconds before so that the reading would stop jumping and we would get a more accurate result. Anemometer: This piece of equipment comes in two parts. One that has the settings and the reading, and the other is a mini-fan like object. The fan measures the wind speed, and the other machine records it, giving us a reading. Light meter: A light meter is used to measure Lux, the unit of measure for light. It is a compacted machine with a screen for the reading and another component that is set into the light to determine the Lux. For other pieces of information, it mainly observed by sight or estimation.

Page |9 TABLE OF FINDINGS

PHYSICAL AND LIVING FEATURES

Distance to high tide meters Air temperature degrees Celsius Soil temperature degrees Celsius Soil moisture 0% - 100% Soil Humus as a% Wind direction Wind speed km/hr. Light Lux Light full sun/ part shade/deep shade Spinefex grass as a % and height Bitou bush as a % and height Wattle as a % and height Tea tree as a % and height Banksia as a % and height Vegetation type grass / shrub/ or tree Zone incipient dune / fore dune / hind dune

STATION A
50 24.6 23.1 2 0 South 22.2 93000 Full sun 80%, 30 cm 0, 5%, 45cm 0, 0, grass incipient

STATION B
80 24 20.1 10 10 South 5 13000 Part shade 0, 1, 5%, 1 80%, 2-5 0, shrub fore

STATION C
150 24.2 20 20 10 South 0.1 9300 Part 0, 0, 1, 70, 8 30, 10 Tree Hind

MAP

CONCLUSION

Vegetation prevents erosion because it traps the sand in its leaves or roots. This makes it harder for the winds to erode away the beach. As we can see above, in Station A, there is a majority of Spinifex Grass (80%). Spinifex grass can grow up to a total o 30 cm, with long roots and leafy branches. They are most common on the sand dunes along the coast of Australia.

Since there is already both vegetation and sand dunes in Windang and Warilla Beach, that leads to the conclusion that the government has tried to stop erosion. Since erosion cannot be completely stopped, these methods however are successful since the residents there are happy with the results.

SOLUTIONS

WHAT CAN THE GOVERNMENT DO? (LOCAL, STATE, FEDERAL)

There are many things that the government can do to deal with the issue of erosion. First of all, they need to implement a few features to the shoreline such as a sea wall or a sand dune. Although some of these methods require a large amount of money, it is essential that coastal erosion is prevented in these shorelines.

Sea walls have been placed to slow down the impact that the sea waves have on beaches. It is usually built parallel to the beach and acts as a barrier, hence its name wall. When the waves reach the shore, most of the waves energy impacts the sea wall rather than the land. This leads to the fact that either it cannot reach inner land, or if it does, it barely has enough energy to take any sand away.

However on the other hand, some experts have stated that sea walls actually increase the rate of erosion because as the energy of the waves gets reflected back into the sea, it deprives the beaches from the sand that is supposed to erode away due to bluffs (a steep cliff or bank). Due to this, many types of council that have conversed with the government have both agreed that the use of seawalls will be put to a halt due to the uncertain results. Another reason it is not common is because it costs a lot of money.

Groynes are structures that are perpendicularly stretched from the shore to the sea. The use of a groyne is to reduce and traps the sediment amount moving seawards. A groyne works as a barrier to erosion because when there are weak or moderate energy waves, it stops it from taking away any land. The downside of this method is that it cannot endure high energy waves.

Sand dunes is another solution for erosion, however they can also be damaged due to erosion. It protects and recruits sand to eroded beaches, and absorbs the impact of winds and waves. They act as storage for sand. They move to a location where there is an excess of sand in the beach, making everything even. A beach replenishes what it loses due to erosion by borrowing from these dunes. The reason why sand dunes are difficult is because they are very fragile. Human activities such as walking can damage sand dunes.

Overall, there are many actions that the government and utilize to aid the termination of erosion. The reason why erosion still exists is because all these methods have flaws in them and ecologists have yet to find a solution to erosion.

COMMUNITY GROUPS AND INDIVIDUALS

It is not just the government that has the ability to stop erosion, but also small community groups and individuals. Small actions can slowly assist the beaches from eroding.

Local community groups can make sure that there is a living shoreline, with lots of life. These should be sea creatures and coral in the sea so that it is harder for the beach to corrode. They can set up programs to let individuals know not to destroy these natural resources or else the beaches will corrode.

By planting more trees near the shore, for example palm trees, there is a more likely chance that sand will not erode with the waves. This is because the roots hold the sand in place in case of winds or heavy waves.

Beach nourishment is also a great idea to save a beach. It is basically a process of extracting sand from one place to a beach dying from erosion. This creates a new beach, or widens the shoreline of an already existing one. This method does not stop erosion, only renews a beach, which will gradually be eaten away by erosion in the next few years. Some beaches have continuously been re-nourished as it keeps on eroding away.