Geology's Control of the Coastal Features in the Swanage Area
Geology can have a great affect on many coastal features. This is
because the lithology or structure of the rocks may affect the coastal
landforms, and the different processes occurring may also affect the
way the landforms turn out.
Starting with the Swanage area it can be seen that the area of Swanage
is an Atlantic coast. This means that there are bands of hard and soft
rock in the coast and therefore due to rocks of different hardness,
the rocks erode at different rates and so you get distinct landforms.
At Swanage the main types of rocks are Wealden clay, Purbeck
(limestone) and Portland stone. Below is a basic map of the area
showing the main landforms that will be discussed as well the
different types of rocks.
From the map it can be seen how the different layers of rocks are
arranged so there are softer rocks in between harder rocks and at
Durlston it can be seen that there's peveril point, and Durlston head,
which is sticking as well as there being Durlston bay. All these
landforms are there even though the whole section of rock is made up
of the same type of rocks (limestone). Starting at Studland Bay the
rock type over there is mainly sands and gravel, and this type of rock
is softer and so it's easier to erode by processes such as hydraulic
action or abrasion. In hydraulic action water is forced into cracks or
weaknesses and as the water goes into the hole it compresses the air
inside and so it builds up the pressure inside and this causes the
rock face to break down. In corrosion it's the pounding of the pebbles
and stones, carried by the waves, which...
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...hich have been exposed by hydraulic
action leading to the Purbeck stone being eroded contributing to the
production of features such as Lulworth Cove Durdle Bay.
Therefore it can be seen that variations in lithology and structure
have really affected the coastline at Lulworth. These variations in
turn have affected the processes, which create the distinct landforms.
To conclude overall the lithology and structure of Swanage and
Lulworth has controlled the formation of the various coastal features
due to there being different strength sand types of rocks in different
positions forming spectacular landforms. These differences in strength
and rock type have allowed certain varying process to occur in
different places allowing different landforms like caves, arches and
stacks, or coves to be formed in different places.
The sea wall protected the low-lying farmland and in addition to this the railway that links Ramsgate and London. A smaller recurved concrete sea wall was built west of the Towers to avert flooding at Reculver. Additional wooden groynes were sited on the beaches to delay longshore drift and maintain the shingle beaches, which itself is a defence. In the 1960s the houses at Bishopstone Glen were in danger of being destroyed because the soft clay and sandstone cliffs underneath them were so unstable. As a result another sea wall was built, this time underne... ...
Lithologically the Kimmeridge Clay Formation can be subdivided into four units (Figure 2), despite of beds at the base of the succession are poorly exposed. However, in contrast, the units from mid-eudoxus Zone to the top of the formation that are well seen in the Formation. At the base of the formation until the eudoxus Zone, the strata are made up almost entirely of bioturbated shelly clays and in between beds, horizons of oil and bituminous are present. The upper part of the Eudoxus Zone until the upper Pectinatus Zone the composition is kerogen-rich mudstones and coccolith limestone.
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