Coastal management is controlling development and change in the coastal zone and undertaking work according to agreed principles and criteria. Physical, environmental and human reasons must be taken into consideration before coastal management commences. The different views of residents and other interested groups must also be taken into account in order to create a balanced policy. The cost – benefit analysis can be used to weigh up the positive and negative effects of the management on certain areas of coast to assess if the management would be worthwhile. Some coastlines attract more human management than others due to both human and physical reasons. If there were no human settlement, physical effects of the sea would not be a problem.

Coastal erosion is a physical process that leads to the coast being managed. Erosion is the process by which coastline rocks are broken up by the action of the sea and transported out to sea or along the coast by waves and the wind. The hydraulic effect is the main process of erosion. Continual crashing of waves onto the surface of the rock erodes it. The physical geography of the r

The East coast of England is also partial to erosion. This is due to its long fetch distance, which produces a greater amount of energy release when waves break in the coastal zone, so more destructive waves are formed. Since destructive waves are high and short, there is a sudden impact of water upon whatever the breaking wave hits. This gives a strong backwash so beach sediment is pulled into the sea.

ock structure such as weaknesses, weather joints, bedding planes or faults are also affected by hydraulic action. These points are especially vulnerable to erosion as blocks of rock are loosened and break away from the main structure of the rock. This may be made worse by the type of rock being eroded. Acids dissolved in the seawater slowly corrode certain types of rock, such as chalk, clay and sandstone. Large waves throw beach material against the cliffs, a process known as abrasion. The greater the size of the breaking wave, the larger its potential load, and the greater damage it can cause to the rock. At times of extreme, harsh climate, such as storms, the load is usually greatly increased to include boulders as the sea holds more energy during this period.

The Holderness Coast is one of Europe's fastest eroding coastlines. The average annual rate of erosion is around 2 metres per year. The main reason for this is because the bedrock is made up of till which is a soft rock so it is eroded more quickly than harder rock. Flamborough is the headland that forms the most northerly point of the Holderness Coast. The most striking aspect of Flamborough Head is the white chalk cliffs that surround it. The chalk lies in distinct horizontal layers. Above the chalk at the top of the cliffs is a layer of till (glacial deposits) left behind by glaciers 18,000 years ago, during the last Ice age. As the cliffs below are worn away by the action of the waves, the clay soil often falls into the sea in huge landslips.

Low lying land is most susceptible to coastal flooding. Although it is usually a short-term problem, as a result of temporary increases in water levels, which are substantially above normal high tide levels, in this time of rising sea levels the likelihood of longer term and more extensive flooding is increasing. Certain particularly populated parts of the world are at high risk, notably delta regions like the Nile in Egypt, the Ganges In Bangladesh and the Rhine-Maas in the Netherlands. Areas become increasingly at risk from coastal flooding when extremes in weather arise such as the storm surges and monsoon rains of 1991 in Bangladesh. Global warming is contributing to coastal flooding as sea levels rise. It is estimated that sea levels have risen by 15-25cm in the last century. The effects of the current 1-2mm rise in sea level at present are cumulative, and in areas subject to flooding, small differences in height assume great significance. Not only global change affects sea level, isostatic change in sea level in the UK has lead to the south ‘sinking’. There have been many short-term climatic fluctuations of heat, cold, drought and wetness.

The construction of the barrage is one of the largest engineering projects in Europe. Completed in1999, it has created a 500 acre freshwater lake with 8 miles of waterfront and it is hoped it wi

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