Air quality
Management strategies to reduce air pollution:
Improving public transport
Introducing stricter emission controls for industry and motor vehicles
Encouraging firms to move goods by rail instead of by road.
Subsiding the installation of solar hot water systems, home insulation and other energy- saving devices
Smog is a type of pollution by the interaction of pollutants and sunlight. It affects the cardio- respiratory system. it can also have a negative effect on vegetation because it affects the rate of photosynthesis, it can damage leaves and reduce the yield of plants and crops.
Coastal management
Wave breaks, water flow up the beach- swash
Swash and return back down called backwash. Rock eroded from cliffs and material carried to the sea by rivers is transport up and down the beach by the swash and backwash of waves.
2 types of wave processes- erosional and depositional- produce the feature of the coastal environment. Over many years, waves gradually break down rocky landforms, creating distinctive erosional features.
Waves also build up beaches by depositional features.
Abrasion- wearing down or rubbing away of rock by friction
Attrition- wearing or rubbing away of material by the friction of a particle against each other.
Deposition- accumulation of sediment by the action of erosional agents, such as water and wind
Hydraulic action- result of wave breaking against cliffs, compressing air into cracks in rock and causing rocks to be loosened and broken away over time
Longshore drift- process whereby sand moves along a beach shoreline when waves approach the shore at an angle.
Salt- spray weathering gradually breaks up the surface of rock because the slat particles expand and contract as they dry in the sun.
Plant weathering breaks up rocks as plants send tiny roots into joints within the rock.
Animal weathering breaks up rock when sea creatures that anchor themselves to rock produce chemicals that attack minerals in the rock.
Rocky coasts
- Softer rocks wear away more easily and form bays and beaches. Harder rocks form headlands.
- The action of breaking waves will erodes the bases of cliffs, forming caves that eventually may become arches.
- Aches can collapse, leaving solitary rocky features in the called sea stacks.
- The size of waves decreases in shallow or sheltered areas.
- sediment, such as sand and small rock and shell pieces, are deposited on the shore forming beaches.
Onshore winds blow sand inland, forming dune systems.
Coastal sand dunes
Sand dunes are formed when wind blows loose, dry beach sand inland.
Dune systems are important because during storm conditions they act as a buffer against the high- energy waves.
They have been used for recreation, mined for sand and minerals, used as rubbish dumps in Australia.
Coastal wetlands
Estuaries and lagoons are two distinctive features of coastal wetlands.
Estuaries are the lower areas of a river and its mouth and often support vegetation.
A lagoon is a large body of water that sometimes forms behind depositional barriers (the Myall Lakes are a well- known example of a lagoon system.
Coastal wetlands are a natural water- filtering system.
Wetlands can also reduce flooding by slowing and storing flows of water.
Activities associated with human settlement are concentrated on the coast, place demands and pressures on coastal systems.
Acid sulphate soils are found in large areas of Australia’s coastal plainds, wetlands and mangroves. As the acid moves through the soil it releases other toxins that eventually flow into surrounding waterways. This decreases water quality and damages sensitive ecosystems.
Common management strategies
Sea walls are structures used to prevent coastal erosion.
Breakwaters are stone structures built at the entrance of rivers to prevent the build- up of sand and to enhance the safety of navigation. Unfortunately, these structure often interrupt existing patterns of erosion, transportation.