Coasts and estuaries geohazards

BGS Research

Coastal eroision at Happiburgh

BGS Coasts and Estuaries provides independent and expert geoscientific tools and advice for collaborative decision making to assess different adaptation options for coastal flooding and erosion.

This research area aims to make our coasts and estuaries more resilient to coastal geohazards, help the transition from grey to green engineering, ensure that the built environment is adaptable to today’s and tomorrow’s climate and to minimise the impacts due to the legacy of anthropic activities on the coastal zone.

Coastal team members setting up the portable devices used to measure sediment transport on mixed sand and gravel beaches at Minsmere, East England, UK (more info about the device here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coastaleng.2019.103580)
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Team members setting up the portable streamer trap devices used to measure sediment transport on mixed sand and gravel beaches at Minsmere, eastern England, UK. BGS © UKRI.

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Globally, most people live within a few hours’ travel of a coast or an estuary. Because of their access to marine resources and opportunities for transport, trade and recreation, coasts and estuaries are major concentrations of population and investment and are the greatest concentration of assets anywhere on the planet. They provide enormous resources, not only in relation to minerals, energy, habitats and food, but also as a recreational amenity.

Such resources and societal assets are threatened by a range of hazards, including marine flooding (the greatest flood risk in the UK), erosion and contamination. Long-term environmental changes, including societal pressures and climate change, are threatening the processes and functions of the coast upon which we depend.

Climate change will also have an enormous impact on coastal stability. Associated changes in the ocean climate are changing the frequency and scale of storm surges in the short term and, in the longer term, increases in sea level pose major threats to coastal areas.

coastal erosion after the storm surge of Thursday 5th December 2013. Hemsby, Norfolk
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Damage due to coastal erosion after the storm surge of 5 December 2013. Hemsby, Norfolk. BGS © UKRI.

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The characterisation of geological processes, resources and hazards on the coast is essential in understanding how coasts are likely to change under future environmental and management scenarios. The knowledge and data we acquire will serve business, government and wider society to make better-informed decisions about coastal risks and opportunities. The BGS Coasts and Estuaries research programme is therefore targeting the increasing need for impartial, authoritative geoscientific advice on coasts nationally and internationally.

Coastal response to environmental change

BGS Coasts and Estuaries will combine the use of innovative 4D simulation models and cost-effective monitoring approaches (from space and using non-intrusive survey methods) to quantitatively assess the effects of different adaptation options against coastal flooding and coastal erosion (for example non-active intervention, managed realignment, hold the line, advance the line) with an emphasis on the transition from traditional grey engineering (such as hold the line with hard defences) to more green engineering (a combination of sand-scaping and giving space to coastal processes).

Find out more about our research

Boulders at the base of a cliff

CoastalME

CoastalME is a modelling environment that simulates decadal and longer coastal morphological changes.

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A curved shingle beach

UKGravelBarriers

Increasing our understanding and modeling capabilities of gravel beach and barrier dynamics.

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Monitoring coastal change from space

BGS is helping to develop applications that detect and track coastal erosion and accretion from space to inform coastal management plans.

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Need more information?

Contact the head of coasts and estuaries geohazards

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