Hard engineering

In civil engineering of shorelines, hard engineering is generally defined as controlled disruption of natural processes by using man-made structures.

Effects

Hard engineering can cause unintended environmental consequences, such as new erosion and altered sedimentation - sand deposition patterns, that are detrimental to the immediate human and natural environment or along down-coast locations and habitats.

Examples

Examples of hard engineering include:

• Groynes - wooden walls that reduce longshore drift
• Seawalls - concrete barriers deflect waves.
• Rip-rap/ rock armour - Boulders piled up against the coast that absorb the energy of the waves^[1]

References