Pressures and threats on the coast

The coast is constantly under threat from both natural and human activities. Below shows some of the pressures that affect the coast:

Threat Explanation/Background Case Study

Environmental Pressure: Oil Pollution Fawley Oil Refinery is situated in on Fawley Oil Refinery: Southhampton Water, Hampshire. It has 3 main impacts: - Largest in the UK employing over 1. expansion of the refinery has lead 3000 people, handling 2000 ships to the destruction of the salt marsh and 22 tonnes of crude oil a day which is designated an Site of - The location on Southampton Water Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) means that it is accessible via the 2. Effluent from the refinery is enter English Channel and Solent. the water. The effluent can be as warm as 30oC and therefore leads Fawley does has some positives, these to eutrophication are: 3. Metal pollution occurs despite - 50,000 trees and shrubs were checks for phosphates, lead and planted when the refinery first mercury. The levels are below the opened. legal limit, but it is still damaging

Environmental Pressure: Damage to Threats: Asia - many reefs are found around Coral Reefs - Increased sediment run off as a developing countries where result of deforestation, mining and deforestation is common e.g. selling building work causes damage to wood in order to make money corals - Rapid urbanisation when Maldives and Africa - global warming infrastructure lags behind leads to in the past threatens 97% with coral increased raw sewage output. This bleaching can lead to eutrophication - Anthropogenic impacts such as diving, removal of coral for souvenirs, blast fishing, dredging, etc - Coral bleaching as a result of increased ocean temperatures exceeding the optimum of 20-30oC for corals to survive.

Environmental Pressure: Oil Spills The Valdez occurred The oil spill was one when a huge (ship) ran which many lesson were learnt. After it aground and punctured its hull. As a occurred there were, in some peoples result 11 million gallons of crude oil opinion, failings in the way it was flooded out into the cold waters of handled . - After the oil had reached 2 miles Impacts: wide and 4 miles long, 2 hours later - 40 miles of water covered in oil due did a team come to begin the clean to a force 4 storm causing it to up. Some say it could have been a distribute. lot less worse if they responded - 800 miles of beach was affected quicker. - 500,000 birds and 3,000 otters were affected by the oil -

www.pmt.education Demand for Increased Renewable The development of the Severn Severn Barrage: Energy Barrage is one of the largest in the UK. The impacts of this are: - In January 2008 a feasibility study - Disruption to wildlife, flood was set up by the government management, navigation, - The barrage could supply up to 5% landscape, ecology, etc. of the UK’s energy demand - Salt marshes and rocky islands - The location is key with it having the home to 65,000 birds are 2nd largest tidal range in the world threatened. at 13 meters. - Disruption to shipping up the estuary as well as increased sedimentation - The tide is held longer, so theres less feeding time birds such as waders.

Lack of Space: Land Reclamation Around 75% of Japans land surface is Japan, Tokyo Bay: Pressure mountainous so is unsuitable for building therefore they have reclaimed There has been a slow down in land land from the sea. reclamation due to: - Between 1950 and the oil crisis of 1. slow down in economic growth 1973 around 110,000 hectares of rates land was reclaimed in Tokyo Bay 2. pollution of water caused by - This has accommodated the 25 landfill in some reclamation work million that live there today 3. Discovery that in earthquakes soil - The land is used for oil refining, liquefaction can occur and the land manufacturing and other industry looses it load bearing capacity.

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