Management implications of coastal change in Suffolk, UK

• Published in: Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Maritime engineering 2005-06, Vol.158 (MA2), p.69-83
• Main Author: Pontee, Nigel I
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Marine
• ISSN: 1741-7597; 1751-7737
• DOI: 10.1680/maen.2005.158.2.69

Rising sea levels throughout the Holocene have contributed to a predominance of erosion around many parts of the UK coastline. This paper considers three sites on the Suffolk coast where human activities have been affected by both erosion and accretion. A simple conceptual model is presented in which the erosion and alongshore transport of material leads to the partial or complete blockage of coastal inlets down-drift. This model places meso-scale changes within a macro-scale setting and integrates historical trends with contemporary beach responses and a knowledge of coastal dynamics, in order to make an assessment of future evolutionary trends. At some sites future coastal changes are likely to represent a continuation of past trends; however, at others there may be a shift to new system domains in the future. The likely impacts of these future changes for coastal settlements are compared with those that have been accommodated by coastal communities in the past. It is suggested that in the future coastal management on this stretch of coast needs to embrace natural processes, rather than working against them. However, the successful implementation of such a policy is likely to be dependent on increasing public awareness in terms of the impacts of both past and future coastal changes.