Plan to map erosion of Cork's coastline
Of About Is 20% Picture: Risk Coast Erosion Estimated Of Ireland's Scannell To Denis Be Coastal At
The entire Co Cork coast is to be assessed and mapped for coastal erosion, in a three-and-a-half-year project by a partnership of Cork County Council and MaREI (the Energy, Climate and Marine Research Centre at UCC).
The findings will inform future planning of coastal management, which is critical for the South-West coast from the Dingle Peninsula to Cape Clear, which is predicted to face the largest climate change increase in erosion, at a rate of 3.3mm to 4.8mm per year.
This is predicted to be worst in low-lying coastal locations situated on soft or easily eroded materials, and coastal floodplains.
Findings of the 1,199km coast assessment may be used in preparation of engineering works.
Cork County Council will provide funding assistance for the project team.
Professor Sarah Culloty, head of the College of Science, Engineering and Food Science at UCC said: "Protecting our coastline is a major challenge for our local authorities, and this project will harness MaREI's world-leading expertise to help shape coastal management strategies in Cork".
About 20% of Ireland's coast is estimated to be at risk of coastal erosion. The areas most susceptible are composed of unconsolidated (soft) sediment.
Cork has 422km of "soft" coastline, and 91km are at risk, according to the climateireland.ie website designed and developed by MaREI at UCC and the Irish Centre for High End Computer at University of Galway.
Many "soft" coasts are low-lying, at less than 10-12m above sea level, and rates of erosion for these areas currently average 0.2 to 0.5m per year, but often reach up to 2m per year.
In contrast, in rocky shores in the south and west, land loss can be as little as 0.01m per century. Erosion in these areas is generally characterised by sudden 'rock falls' or landslides.
Areas of confirmed or probable erosion in Co Cork are the Sheep's Head peninsula and Brow Head, and several points between Rosscarbery and Kinsale.
According to climateireland.ie, manmade factors of particular concern are constructed hard-coastal defences (seawalls, dykes, breakwaters, jetties), which aim to protect assets landward of the coastline, but can increase erosion.
Projected changes in sea level and increased severity of coastal storms are expected to raise the coastal erosion risk, making it a serious problem, particularly if infrastructure or ecosystem services are at risk.
Findings of the Cork County Council/MaREI coastal assessment and mapping will help to determine anti-erosion strategies.
Hold-the-line strategies aim to maintain the current position of the shoreline with hard engineering, generally expensive and normally applied to protect valuable infrastructure and/or assets.
Retreat-the-line strategies aim to allow coastal recession on a managed basis, with engineering measures. This may involve the creation of tourist attractions such as salt marsh areas.
Advance-the-line strategies aim to push the shoreline seaward, generally through land reclamation and beach re-nourishment.
Do-nothing strategies allow the coastline to evolve naturally, with planning restrictions and setbacks such as no development within a fixed distance from the coastline.
The coastal assessment and mapping team will liaise with the Office of Public Works, the Climate Action Regional Office, the Geological Survey of Ireland and other lead agencies to build on existing studies and related projects currently under way.
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