SOFT ENGINEERING

Use of ecological principles and practices to reduce erosion and achieve the stabilization and safety of shorelines and the area surrounding rivers, while enhancing habitat, improving aesthetics, and saving money. 

HOW DO THE VARIOUS SOFT ENGINEERING METHODS PROTECT THE COASTLINE?

1.What is the thing/object you see in the picture.

2.How does it protect the coast? Does it reduces wave energy?

Sand Dunes

Identify the Dunes

STABILIZE SAND DUNES

Sand Dunes : A ridge of sand piled up by wind on the coast.

Why do we need to protect a dune?

What does a dune protect?

Roads and houses against coastal erosion and flooding.

It provides a habitat for many animals including migratory birds.

STABILIZE SAND DUNES

How do we stabilize a dune?

What is a dune made up of?

SandPlanting vegetation on the dune so that the roots can hold on to the sand.

VEGETATION ON DUNES

Mangrove

PROTECTING MANGROVES

Mangroves: A type of natural vegetation whereby plants are well adapted to grow in saline conditions.

Why do we need to protect a mangrove to protect a coast?

What are some qualities of a mangrove?

Plants have prop roots that can help in trapping and holding sedimentsIt can reduce the

impacts of wave erosion by trapping sand

It encourages the extension of the coastline as the mangrove grows.

Prop Roots Beginning Signs of Coastal Extension

What’s this picture showing?

What’s this picture showing?

What form coastal protect is this?

BEACH NOURISHMENT

Adding of large amounts of sand to a beach

Type A Type B

Importing foreign sand

Using sand from the same beach, just from a different section.If a beach is

supplemented by its own materials, what is the beach likely to be experiencing?

What are some things that needs to be considered when importing foreign sand?

Grain Size

Long Term Cost

What’s happening here?

What’s this?

Coral reefs are masses of rock like substances growing in shallow seas. They protect the coasts against coastal erosion by reducing the speed of the waves.