Impact of climate change on Scotland’s coastline set to be digitally mapped

Research will allow local councils and other agencies to mitigate erosion and flooding, says Chris Mccall

The damage that climate change could cause to nearly one-fifth of Scotland’s coastline will be forecast in a new two year research project.

The next phase of Dynamiccoast. com will use the latest monitoring techniques to map and categorise the resilience of the Scottish coast and identify the links between erosion and flooding.

The research, led by the Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage and carried out by the University of Glasgow, launches this month.

It will focus on specific study sites including Montrose Bay, St Andrews and Skara Brae to forecast future change and erosional damage and also work with local councils and other agencies to develop plans to mitigate these effects.

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “Rising sea levels, increased coastal erosion and flooding have caused substantial damage to our coastlines and communities over the last few decades and the pace of erosion is increasing. We need to take action now to adapt and adjust to these changes.

“This research will forecast the extent of damage that could be caused to our precious coastlines through the effects of climate change and will work with communities, local authorities, transport agencies and other planning bodies to develop plans to manage coastal change before it’s too late.”

Scottish Natural Heritage chairman Mike Cantlay said: “Scotland’s beaches and dunes play a vital role in protecting £13 billion-worth of buildings and roads. That is more than twice that currently protected by seawalls. By their dynamic nature, shifting sand dunes can replenish areas of shoreline; as such they are our natural defences. This ensures that our beaches and dunes can be a natural ally in combating the effects of climate change.

“By working with nature at the coast, we can help ease and adapt to climate change impacts – in particular sea level rise and storms.”

This research follows on from the publication of Scotland’s National Coastal Change Assessment in August 2017, which used more than 2,000 maps and one million data points to identify past erosion and growth rates across the country by 2050.

0 Coastal erosion at East Wemyss