Related Experiment Video
Updated: Aug 20, 2025

Measuring and Mapping Patterns of Soil Erosion and Deposition Related to Soil Carbonate Concentrations Under Agricultural Management
Published on: September 12, 2017
Sea-level rise will likely accelerate rock coast cliff retreat rates
Jennifer R Shadrick1, Dylan H Rood2, Martin D Hurst3
1Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College London, London, UK. jrs17@ic.ac.uk.
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 revealing that even historically stable rock coasts are highly sensitive to sea-level rise and should be included in future planning for global climate change response.
More Related Videos
05:58Author Spotlight: Advancing Coral Culture - Creating a Semi-Quantitatively Controlled Microenvironment System to Counter Current Limitations
Published on: July 21, 2023
14:44Field Collection and Laboratory Maintenance of Canopy-Forming Giant Kelp to Facilitate Restoration
Published on: June 7, 2024
Related Concept Videos
Conservation of Energy: Application
Free-falling Bodies: Example
The...
Effect of Sea Water on Concrete
Concrete in areas between tide marks,...
Variation in Acceleration due to Gravity near the Earth's Surface
The difference between the true and apparent weights is proportional to the square of the Earth's...
Design Example: Maintaining Level of an Embankment
Measuring Acceleration Due to Gravity
A simple pendulum can be described as a point mass and a string. Meanwhile, a physical pendulum is any object whose oscillations are similar to a simple pendulum, but cannot be modeled as a point mass on a string because its mass is distributed over a larger area. The behavior of a physical pendulum can be modeled using the principles of...