Sea-level rise will likely accelerate rock coast cliff retreat rates.

ABSTRACT: Coastal response to anthropogenic climate change is of central importance to the infrastructure and inhabitants in these areas. Despite being globally ubiquitous, the stability of rock coasts has been largely neglected, and the expected acceleration of cliff erosion following sea-level rise has not been tested with empirical data, until now. We have optimised a coastal evolution model to topographic and cosmogenic radionuclide data to quantify cliff retreat rates for the past 8000 years and forecast rates for the next century. Here we show that rates of cliff retreat will increase by up to an order of magnitude by 2100 according to current predictions of sea-level rise: an increase much greater than previously predicted. This study challenges conventional coastal management practices by re

SUBMITTER: Shadrick JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9674839 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature