Each year in Sussex millions of pounds are spent on sea defences to try to stop flooding and coast erosion. At Peacehaven in 1996 the government spent £1.4 million on a mere 300 m extension to the existing sea wall while at Saltdean and Rottingdean the newly completed sea wall repairs and beach replenishment have cost nearly £7 million. The final bill for improved coastal defences for Lancing and Shoreham is expected to reach £14 million when the work is completed. The Environment Agency would like to spend £40 million on new defensive works at Pevensey, but not surprisingly are having difficulties finding the money. Elsewhere in Britain and Western Europe the story is much the same: spending on coastal defences has become a worryingly large budget item for governments and seaside communities.
There are increasing doubts as to whether the present high levels of spending are sustainable in the long run, but attempts to cut costs are hampered by lack of basic scientific information. To help plug the information gap, Geographers at Sussex have begun a major research project on the erosion dynamics of rocky coasts under a three-year contract with the EC. Funded by the Marine Science and Technology programme, the £666,000 project brings together geographers and other scientists from Universities across Europe. The co-ordinator for the five nation project is Dr Rendel Williams (CPES), who will be working with fellow Geographers Dr Cherith Moses (CPES) and Dr David Robinson (AFRAS).
The project researchers are in the process of selecting study sites that represent the full range of wave and tidal environments in Western Europe. A newly developed portable laser scanner will be used to make precise measurements of rates of downwearing of rocks in the inter-tidal zone, and these will then be related to measurements of cliff recession. The researchers aim to develop a better understanding of the erosional dynamics of rocky shores in order to assist coastal management agencies in designing appropriate sea defences to cope with not only the existing threat of coast erosion but also the rising sea levels predicted for the 21st century. Who knows - with a little luck, they will be able to trim millions of pounds from the annual bill for Europe's sea defences.
