Geography

1. 1.

   Fictional coastal case: an annual sediment budget receives 18,000 m³ from updrift transport and 4,000 m³ from cliffs; losses are 16,000 m³ downdrift and 9,000 m³ offshore. A proposed groyne retains sand locally; a settlement lies downdrift. All figures and locations are invented. Explain longshore drift under waves approaching at an angle.

   [2 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. Trace successive uprush and return paths. Their differing directions create lateral displacement along the shoreline, not a one-way movement straight offshore.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • Swash moves sediment obliquely up the beach with the incoming wave.
   • Backwash returns downslope under gravity, producing net alongshore movement.

   Examiner tip: Include both swash and backwash in the transport mechanism.

2. 2.

   Fictional coastal case: an annual sediment budget receives 18,000 m³ from updrift transport and 4,000 m³ from cliffs; losses are 16,000 m³ downdrift and 9,000 m³ offshore. A proposed groyne retains sand locally; a settlement lies downdrift. All figures and locations are invented. Calculate the net annual sediment balance and interpret it.

   [2 marks]

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. Sum sources and sinks separately: 22,000 enters and 25,000 leaves. A negative difference suggests depletion but does not locate every eroding beach segment.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • Balance = 18,000 + 4,000 - 16,000 - 9,000 = -3,000 m³/year.
   • The deficit indicates net sediment loss from this budget area.

   Examiner tip: Sediment volume loss is not automatically metres of shoreline retreat.

3. 3.

   Fictional coastal case: an annual sediment budget receives 18,000 m³ from updrift transport and 4,000 m³ from cliffs; losses are 16,000 m³ downdrift and 9,000 m³ offshore. A proposed groyne retains sand locally; a settlement lies downdrift. All figures and locations are invented. Explain how a groyne can benefit one beach while disadvantaging the downdrift settlement.

   [3 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. A groyne redistributes sediment rather than manufacturing it. Analyse the connected coast: a local gain may transfer a deficit to a neighbouring reach.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • It interrupts alongshore sediment transport.
   • Accumulation on the updrift side can widen the local beach.
   • Reduced downdrift supply can intensify erosion where other losses continue.

   Examiner tip: Use the direction of drift to identify which side may lose supply.

4. 4.

   Fictional coastal case: an annual sediment budget receives 18,000 m³ from updrift transport and 4,000 m³ from cliffs; losses are 16,000 m³ downdrift and 9,000 m³ offshore. A proposed groyne retains sand locally; a settlement lies downdrift. All figures and locations are invented. Explain why this budget should be assessed across more than one year.

   [3 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. A single accounting period may capture a storm phase without subsequent recovery. Longer records and uncertainty estimates reveal whether the sediment store is systematically shrinking.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • Storms can produce unusually large offshore losses.
   • Seasonal transport can later return sediment to the beach.
   • Repeated surveys distinguish persistent deficit from short-term redistribution.

   Examiner tip: Offshore transport may be temporary storage, depending on the system boundary.

5. 5.

   Fictional coastal case: an annual sediment budget receives 18,000 m³ from updrift transport and 4,000 m³ from cliffs; losses are 16,000 m³ downdrift and 9,000 m³ offshore. A proposed groyne retains sand locally; a settlement lies downdrift. All figures and locations are invented. Evaluate beach nourishment as an alternative to the groyne.

   [4 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. Nourishment adds material rather than trapping existing transport, but its lifetime depends on the deficit and storm regime. Assess the source area and neighbouring beaches as well as local amenity.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • Adding compatible sediment can widen a beach and absorb wave energy.
   • Continued budget losses may require repeated nourishment.
   • Extraction, transport and habitat effects create costs beyond the defended site.
   • Judges suitability using sediment compatibility, maintenance and downdrift effects.

   Examiner tip: A soft-engineering label does not imply zero environmental cost.

6. 6.

   Fictional coastal case: an annual sediment budget receives 18,000 m³ from updrift transport and 4,000 m³ from cliffs; losses are 16,000 m³ downdrift and 9,000 m³ offshore. A proposed groyne retains sand locally; a settlement lies downdrift. All figures and locations are invented. Assess the claim that protecting the highest-value property is always the fairest coastal strategy.

   [4 marks] · no calculator

   Answer explanation

   Draft walkthroughs are based on marking guidance, not independently verified derivations.

   1. Efficiency and fairness are different tests. A high asset value may justify investment economically, while equitable management must also consider displaced risk and whose interests are excluded from valuation.
   2. Award each point once. Accept other well-supported interpretations addressing the task.

   Marking points

   • Property value can support cost-benefit prioritisation of avoided losses.
   • Market prices may underrepresent low-income residents and essential public services.
   • Sediment redistribution can impose losses on people outside the protected site.
   • Proposes a reasoned fairness criterion including exposure, vulnerability and consultation.

   Examiner tip: State whose benefits and losses your judgement counts.

Original, unofficial practice questions from SubjectScout — not official past-paper questions.