Coastal Erosion in Britain!

            It is estimated by the Association of British Insurers that sea levels will rise 40cm around Britain by the year 2040 due to coastal erosion. If this takes place, and no human defenses are made beforehand then 130,000 more properties will be at risk of flooding. On the Northeast Coast of England in Filey, coastal erosion is occuring at a rate of 25cm a year. These numbers are not as staggering as coastal erosion in other places around the world, however estimates claim that someday in the not so distance future, England could face similar threats. The figure to the right shows coastal erosion "hot spots" in Britain. These "hot spots" have shown particularly increased rates of erosion compared to others around the country.
            The recent and projected increases in the rate of coastal erosion in Britain can be accounted for in several geologic, climatic and oceanographic processes. Geologic processes that make Britain particularly susceptible to coastal erosion include how the water interacts with the particular sediment make-up of the coastal region, structures within the bedrock formation such as bedding, joints and faults, shifts in the water table location in cliffs or sloped shore, and changes in the earth's crust. Climatic and oceanographic processes that are causing coastal erosion in Britain include increases in size and violence of waves, tidal processes, increase in sea level (which is a cause and effect...), and the increase in frequency and intensity of storms.  Accelerated global climate change is greatly shifting the  speed and intensity of climatic processes and is consequently making coastal erosion a much greater problem.
           In coastal erosion "hot spots" such as those seen above there are several human interventions that can help delay and slow the process of coastal erosion at least temporarily. These include the building of harbors, extraction of minerals from the area through processes such as beach mining, and the construction flood and coastal protection barriers. Scientists in Britain have begun to use satellite images to hopefully gain a greater understanding of change in the rate of erosion and the causes of coastal erosion. As it stands now, the best defense and option for defending against coastal erosion would be the removal of minerals because of the particular threats they face in that they have both beached areas and many cliff coast lines. Attempting preservation of cliff coastlines is particularly important in Britain because as much as 4% of employment in Britain relies on the coastlines and landslides caused by cliffs falling are dangerous both to humans and to the  economy.