Geometrical analysis of the inland topography to assess the likely response of wave-dominated coastline to sea level: application to Great Britain
| Autor: | Jonathan R. Lee, Andres Payo, Chris Williams, Kathryn Lee, Rowan Vernon, Andrew G. Hulbert |
|---|---|
| Jazyk: | angličtina |
| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
010504 meteorology & atmospheric sciences
Ocean Engineering 010502 geochemistry & geophysics 01 natural sciences lcsh:Oceanography lcsh:VM1-989 erosion sea-level rise nearshore lcsh:GC1-1581 Exner equation Sea level 0105 earth and related environmental sciences Water Science and Technology Civil and Structural Engineering Shore geography geography.geographical_feature_category lcsh:Naval architecture. Shipbuilding. Marine engineering Sediment Cliffed coast Spatial ecology Erosion Physical geography Geology Accretion (coastal management) |
| Zdroj: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering; Volume 8; Issue 11; Pages: 866 Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, Vol 8, Iss 866, p 866 (2020) |
| DOI: | 10.3390/jmse8110866 |
| Popis: | The need for quantitative assessments at a large spatial scale (103 km) and over time horizons of the order 101 to 102 years have been reinforced by the 2019 Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate, which concluded that adaptation to a sea-level rise will be needed no matter what emission scenario is followed. Here, we used a simple geometrical analysis of the backshore topography to assess the likely response of any wave-dominated coastline to a sea-level rise, and we applied it along the entire Great Britain (GB) coastline, which is ca. 17,820 km long. We illustrated how the backshore geometry can be linked to the shoreline response (rate of change and net response: erosion or accretion) to a sea-level rise by using a generalized shoreline Exner equation, which includes the effect of the backshore slope and differences in sediment fractions within the nearshore. To apply this to the whole of GB, we developed an automated delineation approach to extract the main geometrical attributes. Our analysis suggests that 71% of the coast of GB is best described as gentle coast, including estuarine coastline or open coasts where back-barrier beaches can form. The remaining 39% is best described as cliff-type coastlines, for which the majority (57%) of the backshore slope values are negative, suggesting that a non-equilibrium trajectory will most likely be followed as a response to a rise in sea level. For the remaining 43% of the cliffed coast, we have provided regional statistics showing where the potential sinks and sources of sediment are likely to be. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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