Coastal Erosion

Coastal erosion is described as a natural process along the world’s coastlines that occurs through the actions of currents and waves and results in the loss of sand residue in some places and accretion in others. The rates of erosion tend to be higher in areas where soft sandstone or mudstones are dominant depending on geological type rather than hard substrates such as basalt or granite. Despite the differences in erosion potential along the world’s coastlines, scientists predict that there have been dramatic increases in coastal erosion over the last two decades. These incidents are expected to continue as sea level rises and storm frequency and severity increases.

Rather than occurring over the same time scale with sea level rise, erosion of beaches and coastal cliffs is expected to occur in large bursts during storm events as a result of increased wave height and storm intensity.  Erosion will have significant effects on coastal habitats, which can lead to social and economic impacts on coastal communities.