“A decade-long study of Westcountry coasts has revealed that protecting beaches could also help to stop the cliff erosion that is threatening homes, roads and coast paths around the region.
A dedicated team of scientists from the Plymouth Coastal Observatory has been painstakingly monitoring the tempestuous storms, devastating floods, 50ft-high waves and cliff falls along the coast.
The observatory is responsible for reporting on the effects of time and tide on 1,600 miles of coast from Beachley in Gloucestershire to Portland Bill in Dorset, via Somerset, Devon and Cornwall, including the Isles of Scilly.
Now the public is being given a chance to see for themselves how the processes which form our ever-changing coastline work, and how scientists study and measure the changes.
A free event is being held at Plymouth University – where the Plymouth Coastal Observatory is based – to showcase the work of the regional monitoring programme and its partners.
The link between beach and cliff erosion was established during nearly a decade of monitoring changes to cliffs at Sidmouth in East Devon. The Plymouth Coastal Observatory first commissioned aerial photography of the area in 2007.
The scientists are also regularly seen on the beaches of the region, physically charting the changes taking place due to erosion and deposition, natural coastal processes caused by the weather and tides.
At Pennington Point they found that the levels of the beach have fallen – in some places by more than a metre – since 2007.
Coastal process scientist Emerald Siggery from the Plymouth Coastal Observatory said: “There have been a number of cliff falls at Pennington Point in recent years.
“Our data, which includes aerial photography, topographic surveys and LiDAR, has given us accurate measurements of the changes.
“All our rich data also shows that erosion of the beach is contributing to the erosion of the cliffs, so if action is taken to manage the beach erosion that should contribute to managing erosion of the cliffs as well.”
The observatory’s scientists gather beach measurements accurate to around an inch, and commission and interpret high-resolution aerial photography and LiDAR (laser) imagery, as well as surveys which map the entire range of coastal habitats of the South West.
They also provide real-time information on the region’s waves and tides.
Coast South West 2016 will be open to the public from 10am to 3pm on Wednesday, April 20, in the Rolle Marquee on the main Plymouth University campus at Drake Circus. …
East Devon Watch 