2023/DSE/I/Q5 - PART ONE The absence of lake is favorable for forming

Account for the physical conditions favouring deposition at the lower course of a river. deposition. Lakes can store sediment so the absence of
lakes hinders deposition upstream, and more load will
5 be transported downstream. The increase in the
amount of sediment load favours the formation
Use of
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English Version symbol deposition.

It is going to account for the physical conditions Weak wave energy is also one of the physical
INTRO favouring deposition at the lower course of a river. conditions. When the river mouth is at the sheltered
bay with a short fetch and a shallow sea floor, the
6 energy of sea waves will be weakened and hindering
The change of channel gradient leads to deposition
at the lower course. As the gradient at the lower course wave erosion. Formation of deposition is facilitated.
is gentle, the velocity of river flow drops, hence
favouring deposition. When river enters lake or ocean, Saline sea water, which led to flocculation, is also a
1 the speed falls drastically. It is beneficial for deposition favorable factor forming a delta. When river flows into
at the river mouth and deltas is formed. the sea, those transported tiny particles (i.e. clay and
silt) coagulate with the salt. They will become heavy
7 enough to sink and deposit. The higher the salinity of
seawater, the more the favourable for the formation of
Active fluvial erosion and transportation help deposition.
deposition actions at the lower course of the river.
Once the erosion at the upper course of the river is
strong enough that many eroded materials enter the The variation of rainfall also favours deposition.
river channel, providing a huge amount of sediment When rainfall decreases, rainfall volume decreases and
load to the river channel. When the amount of load so river energy decreases. When there is a seasonal
2 increases, the energy of the river is reduced, and pattern of rainfall, say during dry seasons, water levels
lowering the speed of the river. This leads to deposition drop, forming low ridges and sandbars and hence
at the river bed of the lower course, forming flood blocking the river flow. During wet seasons, rivers are
8 forced to split into many smaller channels, forming
plains. If the coarser sediment is deposited on the river
banks and continues to be raised, levees will be braided streams.
formed.

The winding of river channels is also a key factor.

River water flows more slowly on the inner bank where
deposition takes place, while river current on the outer The amount of vegetation determines deposition.
bank is much stronger and its lateral erosion is more When there is enough vegetation/wetland on the river
significant. Hence, the river bends in a more bank and the river mouth, they can perform binding
pronounced way and form meanders. The outer banks 9 effect as well as the rate of removal of the sediments at
3 of the two bends push together, forming the neck of a the river mouth is lower (hindering wave erosion), and
meander. The neck of the meander is cut through to help forming the deltas.
form a new channel. Deposition silts the original
channel, forming an oxbow lake.

The tributaries and distributaries also facilitate the

formation of deposition. When most of the tributaries
join the main river at the lower course, more sediment
load is provided for deposition. When there are more
4 distributaries, there will be the diversion of river flows
and causing the reduction of the river energy, forming
deposition. Braided streams and arcuate deltas are
then formed.

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 2023/DSE/I/Q5 - PART TWO Government has added revitalisation elements to
Discuss whether the channelisation implemented in recent years can manage the river environment transform the Kai Tak River into a green river corridor
in Hong Kong in a sustainable way.
in the urban area, turning it into a recreational land
use for citizens to enhance the quality of life of the
public.
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English Version symbol
Revitalised channelisation projects are committed to
The channelisation implemented in recent years may protecting the ecology. To improve the condition of
manage the river environment in Hong Kong in a the river by traditional channelisation, riverbanks are
TRANS sustainable way. mostly built of concrete, and the natural habitat of
the river channel is inevitably destroyed by those
The river environment in Hong Kong generally waterway engineering, and most of the native
encounter two major problems: prone to flooding animals and plants disappear; For the recent
during rainy season; and siltation during dry season revitalization project recently, the original river
6
resulting in odor problem. Hong Kong Government channel has been preserved as much as possible to
1 reduce the damage to the river ecology. In addition,
has implemented a number of river channelisation
projects in recent years, aim to tackle the problems fish caves and diversion stones are added to change
mentioned above. the direction and speed of the water flow for fish to
roost in the river channel and raising biodiversity, so
First of all, the channelization project can effectively as to achieve the ecologically sustainable
alleviate the flood problem. By straightening, development of the rivers.
deepening and widening the downstream channel, as
well as the cross-section of the river can be made However, the cost of construction and
2 symmetrical. Through raising river energy, the maintenance is exceedingly high in terms of
amount of sedimentation in the river channel can be economic aspect. The entire revitalization project of
the Kai Tak River took high time cost (about seven
reduced, in order to increase the bankfull discharge,
years) to complete with high cost (about $2.5 billion).
thus reducing the occurrence of flooding.
It is believed that continuous repairs and
7 maintenance will be required in the future, which will
Channalisation can divert excess water away from the continue to increase the amount of capital
river in order to lower the peak discharge. It can be investment. Therefore, it may not be feasible to apply
achieved by raising river velocity, through lowering the new generation of channelisation projects to
3 the level of meandering, lowering channel roughness, most of Hong Kong's rivers.
steeper gradient and shortening of river channel.

Therefore, channalisation can prevent threathening

of lives and property damaged by flooding,
4 particularly dense settlements and farmlands in
flood-prone regions.

New channelization projects can increase the quality

of life of citizens. in recent years, in the river
management project, in addition to channelization,
5
activation is a more important concept. Taking the
Kai Tak River as an example, channelisation has
alleviated the original problems of flooding, while the

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 Moreover, the shape of coastline also leads to
2021/DSE/I/Q5 – PART ONE
erosion and deposition occur simultaneously. There
Explain why wave erosion and deposition occur simultaneously along the southeastern coast of Hong
Kong. are headlands and bays along the southeastern
coast of Hong Kong. At headlands, the wave energy
is concentrated due to wave refraction, forming
destructive waves and erodes the lines of
Paragraph
Use of weaknesses and forming wave erosional features,
English Version symbol
such as sea arch and stack in Ninepin Groups.
The cause of erosion and deposition occur 3 However, bays favours deposition to form. There are
simultaneously along the southeastern coast of numerous of bays along the southeastern coast (e.g.
INTRO Hong Kong are discussed below. Clear Water Bay). In sheltered bay, wave energy is
dispersed due to wave refraction, forming
First of all, different types of waves lead to erosion constructive waves with lower wave energy,
and deposition taking place simultaneously. With deposition is facilitated, such as formation of beach
higher wave energy, destructive wave with higher in Big Wave Bay.
wave height and shorter wave length is formed,
causing stronger erosive power (e.g. hydraulic
action). Also, its backwash is stronger than the Different offshore gradient can also explain the
swash, favours removing the weathered materials occurrence of two processes at the same region.
on the shore and erosion is caused. Partial southeastern coast of Hong Kong has steeper
1
shore gradient, the waves break nearer to the coast.
On the contrary, with lower wave energy, Less energy is spent on overcoming friction against
constructive wave with lower wave height and 4 the seabed. The energy and erosive power are
longer wave length is formed, causing weaker greater. The waves thus tend to be destructive
erosive power. Also, its backwash is weaker than the waves causing erosion, and vice versa in partial
swash, favours bringing loads to the shore for coastline with gentler shore gradient to favor
deposit and deposition is favoured. deposition.

In addition, different fetches are another factor However, erosion is more active due to the
explaining erosion and deposition occurring resistance and structure of rocks. The
simultaneously. Fetch refers to the maximum southeastern coast of Hong Kong is mainly formed
distance the wave can travel uninterruptedly across by volcanic rock, mainly tuff, which is highly resistant
the water. When fetch is longer at the same time to weathering erosion, forming many exposed
with particular wind direction, more time is for headlands. Moreover, the line of weakness (e.g. tuff
waves to build up its energy. The southeastern part 5 in Ninepin Groups with hexagonal columnar jointing
600 of Hong Kong faces over 600 km Pacific Ocean, long and granite in Shek O with vertical jointing) favours
fetch forms destructive waves with high wave hydraulic action and forms various erosional
energy, causing erosion and landform feature, such features, such as Sea Arch in Nineiin Group as well
as sea arch in Cape D’Aguilar and wave-cut as sea cliff and wavecut platform in Tai Tau Chau.
2 platform in Tai Tau Chau, Shek O.

The strength and direction of wind is also another

However, shorter fetch favours deposition. In the factor. Both wind velocity and the duration of wind
southeastern part of Hong Kong, there are determine the strength of wind. As prevailing wind
numerous of offshore islands, such as Tung Lung in Hong Kong is easterly, the wind has been blowing
Chau, have shortened the distance of fetch of from a single direction for a long time, the waves will
partial coastline of Clearwater Day and weakened 6 have greater erosive power; while partial coastline
the wave energy, and forming constructive wave. in southeastern part of Hong Kong is sheltered from
This helps to bring loads to the shore and result in prevailing wind, and deposition is encouraged due
deposition and relevant landforms, such as Shek O to lower wave energy.
Beach with adjacent offline island (Ng Fan Chau).

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 Finally, hard strategies involve tremendous cost of
2021/DSE/I/Q5 - PART TWO
construction and maintenance and fail to solve
Discuss whether hard coastal management strategies should be adopted to protect this part of the coast
the problem in the long term. Sea walls, which are
in Hong Kong.
hard strategies built along the shoreline or in
equilibrium with the highest water level to reflect
wave energy. However, due to continuous erosion,
Use of 5 sea walls are prone to undercutting problems,
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requiring frequent repairs and maintenance.
Hard coastal management strategies should be
adopted to protect this part of the coast in Hong
TRANS Kong.
Hard strategy may bring the loss of recreational
Hard engineering works may be one of the value. For example taking the groynes as the hard
strategies implemented to protect the coasts. engineering works protecting the beaches, they
Through these construction works of hard strategies obstruct the passage of people along the beach,
along the coast, the natural processes of wave, become significant unattractive visual intrusion to
including wave erosion and transportation can be the coastal landscape and may cause the shrinking
1 suppressed, reduced or terminated. The coastal of the adjacent beaches; For example Shek O Beach
landscapes and environment is significantly altered 6 as a recreational land use, the soft strategy of beach
by these strategies, including the construction of nourishment is more appropriate by adding a large
groynes, breakwaters, seawalls and revetments or amount of sand to the beach to compensate for the
rock armour. loss of sea sand caused by longshore drift and
maintain the recreational value of the beach
First, hard strategies are not cost effective to be without causing damage to the environment.
adopted to protect this part of Hong Kong's coast.
The southeastern coastal areas of Hong Kong have To conclude, hard strategies cannot be adopted on
2 lower population density and least economic a large scale. All hard strategies are artificial
activity. The value of protecting citizens from constructions that fail to colaborate with the
erosion is utterly minimal. environment, destroy the natural landscape, and
7 cause visual pollution. Therefore, they cannot be
On the contrary, hard strategies bring the loss of adopted on a large scale to protect the large
geological resources. The southeastern coast of southeast coastal area.
Hong Kong offers valuable natural resources with
high geological value, such as NinePin Group
3 Geopark and Cape D’Aguilar Coastal Reserve. These
unique landforms are caused by different coastal
processes with high tourism and education value,
adoption of hard strategies should be prevented.

Furthermore, adopting hard strategies will damage

the ecological environment. Take breakwaters as
an example, it aims at reflecting wave energy.
However, during the construction process, it will
inevitably cause damage to the ocean, such as
4 destroying habitats or causing water pollution.
Moreover, the reflected waves will divert to other
areas and cause erosion, causing extension
problems. Therefore, hard strategies should not be
used.

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