Misha'elMisri

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School of Earth and Environmental Sciences University of Portsmouth The Geomorphological Changes of the North Norfolk Coastline in relation to Past and Future Storm Surge Events B.Sc (Hons) Geological Hazards Misha’el Esmail Misri UP619683 6th May 2015

Transcript of Misha'elMisri

School of Earth and Environmental Sciences

University of Portsmouth

The Geomorphological Changes of the North Norfolk Coastline in relation to Past and Future Storm Surge Events

B.Sc (Hons) Geological Hazards

Misha’el Esmail Misri

UP619683

6P

thP May 2015

UAbstract

The threat of coastal retreat on the Norfolk coast has been as such for many years, and will have

to endure it for many years to come as the cliffs along the shore are continuingly attacked by

constant wave energy slowly eroding away at the cliffs. The occurrences of storm surges also

have a massive part to play on the rate of coastal erosion as they become more common as the

years go on and as global warming increases, with incidences becoming evidently worse for

these vulnerable seaside villages from 2007 to the present date. With this geological hazard of

the removal of coastal sediments and washing them away into the sea by coastal landsliding and

erosion persistentently occurring, it means that hundreds of meters of land has already been lost

in the last 50 years and hundreds more meters will be lost in years to come. This is why this

thesis has been put in place, to investigate into any of the management techniques, shoreline

management plans and defence mechanisms that have been implemented along the coast in

response to the erosion and how much of an effect it will have on the land reclamation processes,

whether it is slowing it down, or even if it is having any effect at all. Desk study and primary

fieldwork was carried out to investigate into further detail on the geomorphological and

geological details of the coast and how they also play a part in controlling the rate of erosion.

The results showed that the weak, unconsolidated structure of the lithology within the cliffs

played a massive part on the how liable the cliffs are to retreat. The data collected from the desk

study in combination with the primary field investigation was then used to create final outputs of

the area, including ground models, vulnerability maps, geomorphology maps and finally a map

to show the rate of retreat of the North Norfolk coastline fifty years into the future.

Contents Page number Acknowledgements 1.0 Introduction 1.1 Project Rationale 1.2 Aims 1.3 Objectives 1.4 Location

1 1 1 1 2

2.0 Desk Study 2.1 Historical Background 2.1.1 Historical Map Analysis 2.2 Storm Surges 2.2.1 The 1953 North Sea Storm Surge 2.2.2 The 1978 North Sea Storm Surge 2.2.3 The 2007 North Sea Storm Surge 2.3 Coastal Erosion 2.4 Geology 2.4.1 Geological Setting 2.4.2 Geology Of The Coastline 2.4.3 Norfolk Stratigraphy 2.4.4 Norfolk Bedrock Depositional Period 2.4.5 Lithological Descriptions 2.5 Coastal Management 2.5.1 Cost Benefit Analysis and Funding 2.5.2 Shoreline Management Plan 2.5.2.1 Shoreline Management Plan Aims 2.5.2.2 Shoreline Management Plan Policies 2.5.2.3 Shoreline Management Plan Areas 2.6 Climate Change and Future Erosion

3 3 3 5 6 6 7 7 8 8 9 9 10 12 13 13 13 13 15 15 16

3.0 Primary Field Investigations 3.1 Site Reconnaissance 3.2 Geological Mapping 3.3 Geomorphological Observations 3.4 Questionnaires on Public Response 3.5 Observational Survey

19 19 20 23 25 25

4.0 Result Presentation 4.1 Field Investigation Summary 4.2 Geological Interpretation 4.3 Hazards and Vulnerability Map Interpretation 4.4 Community Responses 4.5 Ground Model Analysis

28 28 29 29 31 32

5.0 Mitigation 5.1 Current Defences 5.2 Suggested Mitigation Techniques

34 34 36

6.0 Discussion 37 7.0 Conclusion 7.1 Summary of Conclusions 7.2 Future Research

39 39 39

8.0 References 40 9.0 Appendices 42

Figures Page Number

Figure 1 – Location of Norfolk Coast, England 2

Figure 2 – Highlighted Area of North Norfolk Coast 2

Figure 3 – Historical map of Happisburgh in 1880s 4

Figure 4 – Historical map of Happisburgh in 1950s 4

Figure 5 – Historical map of Happisburgh in 1970s 5

Figure 6 – Image showing water levels of various storm surges 5

Figure 7 – Graph showing wave heights during 2007 storm surge 7

Figure 8 – Geological map of the Norfolk Coastline 11

Figure 9 – Units and policies of Sub-cell 3a 17

Figure 10 – Units and policies of sub-cell 3b 18

Figure 11 – Offshore reefs with sandbanks, Sea Palling 24

Figure 12 – Comparison photos of beach access stairs in Happisburgh

27

Figure 13 – Hazard, Vulnerability and predicted retreat map 30

Figure 14 – Conceptual model of Happisburgh 33

Figure 15 – Map showing the different defences along the north Norfolk Coastline

35

Plates Page Number

Plate 1 – Sea Palling flooding, 1953 Storm Surge 6

Plate 2 – White Chalk and Red Limestone, Hunstanton 20

Plate 3 – Chalk Outcrop at low tide, Sherringham 21

Plate 4 – Chalk outcrop, West Runton 21

Plate 5 – Interglacial deposits with Till overlain by Chalk, West Runton

22

Plate 6 – Happisburgh Till 22-23

Plate 7 – Protruding till and boulder clay, Happisburgh 24

Plate 8 – Landslip at Weybourne 25

Plate 9 – Landslide at Trimingham 26

Plate 10 – Extent of storm damage, Happisburgh 26-27

Plate 11 – Concrete sea wall and sand dunes, Horsey Gap 34

Tables Page Number

Table 1 – Flood forecasting records 8

Table 2 – Depositional periods for Norfolk bedrock stratigraphy 10

Table 3 – Descriptions of stratigraphic litholigies 12

Graphs Page Number

Graph 1 – Questionnaire results on agreement of management techniques

31

Graph 2 – Questionnaire results assessing the coastal defences within the area

31

UAcknowledgements

Firstly, I would like to thank my tutor Philip Benson for his constant guidance, hints and tips on

the best ways to complete my report and being an all-round good student. I would also like to

thank my course mates, housemates, boyfriend and family for the amazing amount of support

and love during all the stressful times that they had to deal with while I was going through the

process of writing this dissertation and through the 4 years of my university life.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

erosional and storm surge events

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1.0 Introduction

The North Norfolk coastline is at a great risk to slowly fading away into the North Sea as coastal

retreat continues to attack the cliffs along the shoreline that the vulnerable settlements and

communities that are situated upon. The areas along the coastline are being subjected to ongoing

daily erosion from the constant process of wave action eating away at the exposed cliff faces.

1.1 Project Rationale

This thesis has been put in place in order to investigate into the geomorphological changes that

the North Norfolk coastline has and will go through as climate change causes the frequency of

storm surges to increase combined with sea levels rising, meaning that it is likely to have a

profound impact on coastal erosion and serious consequences for the effectiveness of coastal

protection and sea defence schemes in East Anglia in the near future (Thomalla and Vincent,

2003).

1.2 Aims

To investigate into the various coastal erosion events that impact the North Norfolk coastline,

stretching from Hunstanton through to Waxham, with a case study concentrating on the

vanishing village of Happisburgh (fig 1), whilst gaining an understanding on how these events

have influenced the shape of the coastline in the present day and the way in which the different

geological and geomorphological landscapes, including hard steep cliffs, sand flats and more

gently inclined cliffs, all react to the erosion in distinctive ways. The information collected will

then be used to forecast the extent of cliff retreat progressing 30 years into the future and the

probable unfortunate fate of the communities and settlements that are affected by the retreat.

1.3 Objectives

Meeting the aims within this project is only possible by completing a list of objectives that

combine historical and present erosional and storm surge events conjoined with how the hazards

affect human livelihood, these objectives are as follows:

Analyse the different geomorphological formations and their distinctive characteristics

that are currently exposed along the North Norfolk Coastline.

Catalogue historical storm surges and coastal erosion events and investigate into the

extent that they have disturbed the coastline.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

erosional and storm surge events

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Investigate the different areas of the Norfolk coastline and recognise the effects that

coastal erosion has on surrounding populations, buildings and nature by looking at socio-

economic and physical vulnerability.

Assess the different management plans and coastal defences that are currently in

operation.

Determine future effects that erosion will have on the shape of the coastline in

conjunction with the future impacts that the retreat will have on surrounding towns and

villages.

1.4 Location

The case study within this thesis will be on Happisburgh, which is a small village of an

approximate but ever changing size due to the cliff erosion, of 10.78 km2 located within the

county of Norfolk, England (fig 1). This village is included within the multiple settlements that

are located along the North Norfolk coastline that forms the northern area of East Anglia

(highlighted in figure 2). The coastline has a total area of 450 km2 containing designated Areas

of outstanding natural beauty (AONB rewarded in 1968) because of the cultural heritage, diverse

flora and fauna and beautiful natural landscapes.

Happisburgh Figure 2 -

Highlighted area

of the North

Norfolk Coast

being studied

(Edina Digimap,

2015)

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Mishael MisriPortsmouth

Apr 08, 2015 20:20Scale 1:8000000

uk

0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 km

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2015. FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY

Mishael MisriPortsmouth

Apr 08, 2015 20:10Scale 1:800000

North Norfolk coast

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100 km

Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2015. FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY

Figure 1 – location of the Norfolk coast, England

(Edina digimap, 2015)

Happisburgh

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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2.0 Desk Study

2.1 Historical Background

The North Norfolk Coastline has the distinct shape it has today as it has been sculpted by

constant erosion from the sea and more importantly the area was subjected to the Anglian

glaciation. The entire area was completely covered in ice 350,000 years ago then once again

30,000 to 10,000 years ago (Langslow, 2000). This processes of glaciation and glacial retreat has

left behind gravels, sands, chalk erratics and boulder clay (Langslow, 2000) to form the present

day landscape. However the first signs of civilisation of the area were discovered by scientists in

2013 consisted of pre-ice age footprints from 850,000 years ago, where the area was dominated

by nomads that hunted mammoths, bison, rhinos and dear (Norfolk’s Deep History Coast,

accessed 2015). Throughout the ages, the North Norfolk coastline became inhabited by different

groups of people, including the Iceni tribe, the Romans, the Saxons and the Vikings, each

cultivating the land in more developed ways, for example the building of ports, roads and even

round tower churches that still stand in the villages today (A Brief History of Norfolk, accessed

2015).

2.1.1 Historical Map Analysis

By analysing and interpreting the historical maps accessed from Edina Digimap during the desk

study it has been made obvious just how much the coastline has been subjected to the coastal

erosion and at what rate the coastline has been retreating by. The maps also show some of the

different management schemes that have been put in place in response to the erosion. The

information collected from the historical maps shown in figures 3 and 4 show that the cliffs have

retreated dramatically between the 1800s and the 1950s, where approximately 100m of the

original cliff face has been lost to sea. This is made obvious by looking at the centre of the

village that is shown as a cluster of buildings, which is significantly closer to the cliffs edge in

the 1950s historical map than the 1800s map.

The historical maps do however also help in distinguishing when the coastal retreat started to

become a real threat so much so that new management techniques and defence structures had to

be put in place. This is demonstrated in figure 5, showing that groynes had been installed along

the beach infront of the crumbling Happisburgh cliffs in the 1970s to aid in absorbing the energy

produced by the waves, thus lessening the amount of erosion that the cliffs would have to

endure.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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Mishael MisriPortsmouth

Sep 28, 2014 20:17Scale 1:15000

Happisburgh 1880 s

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 m

© Landmark Information Group Ltd and Crown copyright 2014. FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY.

Figure 3 – Historical map of Happisburgh in the

1880s (Edina Digimap 2015)

Mishael MisriPortsmouth

Sep 28, 2014 20:18Scale 1:15000

Happisburgh 1950s

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 m

© Landmark Information Group Ltd and Crown copyright 2014. FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY.

Figure 4 – Historical map of Happisburgh in the 1950s

showing extent of coastal retreat (Edina Digimap 2015)

N

N

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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2.2 Storm Surges

Storm surges, also known as meteorological

residuals, majorly affect the North Norfolk

coastline and are generally subjected by a large

and sudden rise in sea level influenced by extreme

metrological conditions most commonly causing

storm like wind conditions. The magnitude of the

storm surge depends on a number of factors

comprising of; size, movement and intensity of the

storm system, the near shore bathymetry (water

depth) or the shape of the coastline (Weisse et al.,

2012). There have been multiple events that have

affected the coast over the years as shown on

figure 6.

Figure 5 – Historical map of Happisburgh in the 1970s

showing the building of groynes along the shoreline (Edina

Digimap, 2015)

Mishael MisriPortsmouth

Sep 28, 2014 20:18Scale 1:15000

Happisburgh 1970s

0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000 m

© Landmark Information Group Ltd and Crown copyright 2014. FOR EDUCATIONAL USE ONLY.

N

Figure 6 – Image showing water levels of various

storm surge events over years (Kelman, 2002)

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2.2.1 The 1953 North Sea Storm Surge

On the 31st of January 1953, a storm surge generated in the North Sea devastated the areas along

the coast of England, caused by a spring tide combined with low atmospheric pressure causing

elevated sea levels and strong winds piling up the water on shore (Jonkman and Kelman, 2005).

The extent of damage and mortality was devastating with a huge 420 fatalities and 24,000

damaged homes (Jonkman and Kelman, 2005) as vast areas became inundated with water as the

sea defences that were in place were unable to withstand the huge surge and became overtopped,

as demonstrated in plate 1 which was a photo displayed in a café in the Sea Palling area. The

high death toll is mainly due to the unexpected occurrence of the flood after sunset and without

warning (Jonkman and Kelman, 2005).

2.2.2 The 1978 North Sea Storm Surge

On the 11th of January 1978 the Norfolk coastline suffered a substantial amount of damage and

disruption caused by the Storm Surge with pressure at 976 mb, very strong, very cold northerly

airstream with winds that reached force 9 (75 km h -1) with gusts up to 130 km h -1 (Steers et

al., 1979) swept a vast amount of water into the coastal villages in more of the easterly areas.

However, apart from Walcott which experienced quite bad flooding even though a sea wall was

built to replace what was a low cliff (Steers et al., 1979) to try and protect the area, the villages

on North Norfolk coast suffered less flooding as much of the areas are surrounded by large sand

banks and dunes. These did however suffer some damage with the dunes being locally cut back

3-7m (Steers et al., 1979). While flooding was not extensive, this storm surge had an effect on

local erosion, as the already vulnerable cliff faces were subjected to a considerable amount more

damage.

Plate 1 – Sea Palling flooding subsequent the

1953 Strom Surge

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2.2.3 The 2007 North Sea Storm Surge

Figure 3 demonstrates to what extents the waves rose over their threshold levels of 2.9m during

the sotrm surge event of 2007. Though this even was slightly unlike the others as it occurred

during the month of November, never the less it still happened under the same low pressure

conditions. Fortunately the extent of the damage was not as severe as previous events as the

winds were largely offshore, resulting in waves not being as high as they could have been (Met

Office 2011). There were no mortalities (as early warning systems were in place) but a small bit

of damage to property did however occur and the some coastal defence systems were breached

(Met Office 2011).

2.3 Coastal Erosion

The North Norfolk coastline is extremely vulnerable to the mass amounts of erosion that it

undergoes daily because of a combination of factors including composition, characteristics of the

beach such as its gradient and width and also the intensity of the wave action. In the case of the

Norfolk coast, wind – generated waves are the most important as they are created when energy

transfer agents allow the waves to attain their energy from the wind, transferring it into the body

of water that is surrounding the coastline, and then delivering it to the coastal zone where it can

be the primary cause of erosion (Komar, 1983).

In order to monitor the differences in wave action that occurs; the Shoreline Management Group

(SMG) based within the Regional Flood & Coastal Risk Management department provides

Figure 7 – Graph showing wave heights during the

2007 storm surge event (Environment Agency, 2010),

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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strategic monitoring of the Anglian Coast through the ‘Anglian Coastal Monitoring Programme’

(Environment Agency, 2010). This monitoring is carried out via the installation of a network of

five Directional Waverider (DWR) bouys and 20 Acoustic Wave and Current Meters (AWACs)

measuring offshore and near shore wave conditions respectively along the regional frontage

(Environment Agency, 2010). The information collected by these different monitoring devices is

then used to create statistical or transformation wave models (Environment Agency, 2010),

which will then be used to monitor the change in the wave models to determine when there will

be extreme conditions occurring, which in turn will cause storm surges and an increase in coastal

erosion. This is why these models are extremely important as they can forecast events, thus

providing early warning systems and assist in flood risk management (Environment Agency,

2010) as demonstrated in table 1.

Composition of the cliffs, originally

being deposited by glacial processes,

also speeds up the rate of erosion that

is caused by the wave action because

they are made of heterogeneous

material with a low shear strength

(Frew, 2009) and the glacial till also

deposited sands and gravels, these in

combination with the clays have

different permeabilities that are within

the formations, this means that it leads

to an increase in pore water pressure in

the cliff, reduces the shear strength of

the cliff and leads to landsliding (Frew,

2009).

2.4 Geology

2.4.1 Geological Setting

The North Norfolk shoreline is predominantly a soft-cliffed coastline composed of

unconsolidated glacial sediments (Thorne et al., 2007). These unconsolidated sediments consist

of glacial tills and boulder clay having a large range of grain size, with hard rock fragments up to

builder size surrounded by softer matrix material consisting of sands and clay (Frew, 2009). As

Table 1 – Flood forecasting records of flood alerts for

monitors located at Cromer and Wells between 2007-2008

(Environment Agency, 2010)

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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the cliffs erode there is potential for beach building, but wave energy rapidly moves this material

away resulting in translation or steepening of the beach profile as the shoreline retreats (Thorne

et al., 2007). In response to these soft unconsolidated cliffs, sea walls and groynes have been

built in front of all the towns and larger villages, which have resulted in these areas developing

as promontories, while adjacent cliffs are eroding (Thorne et al., 2007).

2.4.2 Geology of the Coastline

The different formations along the North Norfolk Coastline behave in distinctive ways to the

erosion that occurs from the wave action and storm surges. It is made up of the most complex

sequences of late Jurassic to late Cretaceous marine strata in Britain (Langslow, 2000) primarily

composed of Quaternary deposits underlain by chalk bedrock (Frew, 2009) although the chalk is

a type of rock that is soft it is quite resilient in terms of resisting to the erosion that it undergoes.

The chalk is the most exposed formation along the coastline (fig 8), being visible in the base of

the cliffs at Weybourbe, while between Shrringham and West Runton it is exposed as a wave cut

platform at low water (Frew, 2009). The Chalk is contained within the Upper, Middle and Lower

chalk formations in these different areas that formed 62 to 132 million years before present

(Frew, 2009). The cliffs along the Norfolk Coastline range in height but are mainly between 6-

10m. The cliffs at Happisburgh are composed several glaciated tills separated by beds of

stratified silt, clay and sand (Jones and M.E. Tucker & J. Hart, 1999) formed of the Wroxham

crag formation in the basal units and the Happisburgh till member that is exposed in some areas

forming outcrops in the base of some cliffs within the areas, this till member is then overlain by

the Happisburgh Sand Member.

2.4.3 Norfolk Stratigraphy

There are six distinct geological units the can be identified along the North Norfolk Coastline.

Pin pointing the different features at each of the outcrops that can be seen at the cliff faces aid in

piecing together a summary to categorize the specific formations, which can be seen listed in

table 3. These features that have been identified are then very useful in relation to how the cliffs

behave to the wave actions, for example the cliffs at Hunstanton are being undercut due to the

characteristics of the Hunstanton formation, being chalk, it is easily eroded away at its toe,

causing the upper layers with no support, thus increasing the risk of cliff failure.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

erosional and storm surge events

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2.4.4 Norfolk Bedrock Depositional Periods

Table 2 – Depositional periods for Norfolk Bedrock Stratigraphy (BGS 2012)

Periods Stratigraphic Unit

Pleistocene Wroxham Crag

Pliocene Norwich crag

Eocene London Clay

Upper Cretaceous White Chalk Subgroup

Grey Chalk Subgroup

Lower Cretaceous Hunstanton Formation

Gault Formation

Carstone Formation

Jurassic Kimmeridge Clay Formation

Ampthill Clay Formation

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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2.4.5 Lithological Descriptions

Table 3 – Descriptions of stratigraphic litholigies

Lithology Description Thickness

Wroxham Crag formation

(Bedrock)

Quite course, medium sorted

gravel, sands, clays and silts

with high levels of quartz and

quartzite.

Approx. 20m

Norwich Crag Formation

(Bedrock)

Marine formation with

fine/medium grained well-

sorted sands, clays and gravels

made up of flint.

Approx. 70m

Upper White Chalk

(Subgroup)

White chalk with flint seems

running through.

Approx. 350m

Middle White Chalk

(Subgroup)

White chalk with flint seems

running through.

Approx. 500m

Lower Grey Chalk

(Subgroup)

Grey soft chalk with clay

containing marl seams.

Approx. 30m

Hunstanton Formation Pink/red chalk with marl,

pink/red limestone and clay

with some lower parts

containing sands.

Approx. 1m

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2.5 Coastal Management

2.5.1 Cost Benefit Analysis and Funding

In order to begin any coastal management schemes a Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA) must first

take place to be used as a decision making tool for the purpose of creating the most favorable

outcomes even though there is a Treasury discount rate in place, this is used in comparing future

benefits with current costs of a scheme (Clayton, 1993). However to ensure favourable outcomes

high estimates of retreat must be calculated and the effectiveness of the scheme must be

overestimated. Another factor that would encounter issues with the scheme going ahead is the

value of sediment delivered to the beach from eroding cliffs (Clayton, 1993) as this may hinder

the Cost Benefit Analysis from going ahead.

Funding the North Norfolk Coastline to insure its management is however extremely difficult

because of its rural location compared to other more urban locations, meaning governmental

funding is limited. However there are benefit schemes in place that are put through by the

Environment Agency, even though these schemes are run through a Cost Benefit Analysis to

discover which areas are prioritised which will then require the help of local contributions to

implement coastal management schemes, the fact that the coast is so rural is still the issue that

arises, which means instigating new plans is extremely difficult. The coast does however receive

funding through a Revenue Support Grant, which consists of approximately £340,000 allocated

for the maintenance of existing sea defences in North Norfolk (North Norfolk District Council,

accessed 2015) however this scheme is under pressure due to the councils budgets, meaning even

this scheme could be under threat to being changed and reduced.

2.5.2 Shoreline Management Plan

2.5.2.1 Shoreline Management Plan Aims

A Shoreline Management Plan (SMP) is a high-level policy document in which the organizations

that manage the shoreline set their long term plan (Norfolk County Council, 2009) which has had

its first policies put in place in 1996. This is because the North Norfolk Coastline has always

been extremely vulnerable to coastal processes and erosion. The main aim of the Shoreline

Management Plan is to develop an ‘intent of management’ for the shoreline that achieves the

best possible balance of all the values and features that occur around the shoreline, for the

coming 100 years (Norfolk County Council, 2009).

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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This document works together with the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) in order to

integrate the issues regarding the protection of environmental features including biodiversity,

soil, water and communities, cultural heritage and climatic factors while enforcing suitable

coastal management plans to slow down the effects of coastal erosion and coastal retreat. Along

with the Strategic Environmental Assessment, the plan is also an important part of the

Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) strategy for managing flooding and

coastal erosion (Norfolk County Council, 2009).

The main aims of the scheme that is put in place is to concentrate on the benefits to the economy

and to the communities and societies involved which must be in line with the Governments

sustainable development policies (Norfolk County Council, 2009). Benefits to the environment

are also a large factor and mainly aim to reduce different threats that the coastal areas are at risk

to such as erosion and flooding.

Along with the aims that are put in place for the Shoreline Management Plan, there are also

agreed principles that the plan is based on that are agreed by all organizations involved which

makes implementing policies challenging because attempting to achieve all of the principles that

are put in place is almost impossible in all cases. However trying to follow as many as possible is

extremely important as they represent the balance of values to which the Shoreline Management

Plan aspires (Norfolk County Council, 2009). These principles are as follow:

1. The promotion of the different coastal management options in order to reduce the need of

defences

2. To make sure that any decisions that are put in place do not affect the natural coastal

processes further away from the specified areas

3. To discover the future uncertainties that are associated with coastal processes

4. To ensure that the economic values are considered while the different populations that

live around these areas adapt to the changes that are taking place

5. To include effects that industries will have to encounter, such as fishing and agricultural

industries

6. To incorporate the value of the coast to communities further away

7. To make sure that policies put in place are in response to land use planning systems

8. To ensure the protection of the different flora and fauna sites that are protected

9. To allow the biodiversity of the area to develop to larger areas

10. To allow the natural coastal landscape to be maintained and enhanced

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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11. To ensure the value of the historic environment is maintained

2.5.2.2 Shoreline Management Plan Policies

There are four individual policies that have been created by the Shoreline Management Plan that

can be applied to the different areas that are involved within the plan to assess the ‘intent of

management’ and the effects that these policies will have on the environment and on land use.

These policies include:

Hold the line – this policy involves insuring that any defences that are already in place

are kept in the same arrangement

Advance the line – this policy involves the building of new defences ahead of the existing

defences toward the shoreline

Managed realignment – this policy involves implementing controls and management to

keep the effects on the environment and land use to a minimum while allowing the

shoreline to move towards the sea or towards the land, this is done by the building and

breaching of defences while allowing the environment to adapt to the changes

No active intervention – this policy involves no action and no investment into any plans

or coastal defences

2.5.2.3 Shoreline Management Plan Areas

For the Shoreline Management Plan to take place it must be divided into different sections along

the North Norfolk Coastline. By subdividing the areas into smaller units, it means that the

smaller components can be identified and developed to identify the different defence options

which will enable the main objectives to be met, whilst still being in accordance with the overall

natural process requirements for these different areas (DEFRA, 1996). The whole shoreline

management plan is divided into two sub-cells, these known as SMP Sub-cell 3a, which runs

from Snettisham to Sheringham, and SMP Sub-cell 3b, which runs from Sherringham to

Lowestoft. Each of these sub cells are then divided into a number of units dependant on the area

and the policy being out in place, Figures 9 and 10 show these different units.

Sub-cell 3a includes the area of Hunstanton, this is known as unit number 11 and policies put in

place within this area are; do nothing within the short term, meaning they will implement no new

defences but will continue monitoring erosion rates, and managed retreat in the medium term,

which involves the building of defences at the toe of the cliff to reduce erosion rates.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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16

Sub-cell 3b includes the area of Happisburgh within unit number 4, the policy put in place for

this unit is to hold the existing line, which means that no new defences will be built to protect the

area however management and maintenance of the current defences will take place.

2.6 Climate Change and Future Erosion

Climate change poses an obvious risk to the coast as there is an increase in storm surge events in

relation to sea level changes and an increase in rainfall, though predicting the future state of the

North Norfolk coastline is extremely difficult as inter-relationships between these parameters are

not well established and differences in future climate change scenarios are not quantifiable to an

acceptable degree of accuracy (Thorne et al., 2007). However, because of the increase in sea

level due to climate change, it will cause a raise in all coastal processes, thus resulting in a

greater attack by wave action at the cliff and therefore increased cliff erosion (Thorne et al.,

2007). This increase in erosion rate will therefore change the shape of the shoreline, as the

installation of sea walls at these different locations will inhibit the shoreline to move landward,

resulting in narrower, steeper beaches (Thorne et al., 2007). The migration of sediments along

the North Norfolk coast will continue for tens to hundreds of years, which is why the cell

boundaries have been implemented along the coast; which is a long-term average of daily

patterns of movement (Clayton, 1993), this is used to predict the daily average rate of sediment

movement along the shoreline as sea levels rise and wave energy increases, thus contributing

towards modelling beach responses. tThese can be made by monitoring contemporary overall

profiles of the beach and their current relationship with sea level, which then allows the

prediction of a rate shore migration with the annual rate of sea level rise or a total distance for a

given rise in mean sea-level (Clayton, 1993).

The geological and geomorphological characteristics of the coast along with increased human

interaction in response to the climate change will all have an effect on the shoreline as the

different geologies will behave differently to the wave action and increasing or retreating of

coastal defences will also change the overall outcome of the future coastline.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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Fig

ure

9 –

Un

its

an

d p

oli

cies

of

Su

b-c

ell

3a

(E

din

a,

Dig

imap

201

5)

N

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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N

Fig

ure

10

– U

nit

s an

d p

oli

cies

of

Sub

-

cell

3b

(E

din

a, D

igim

ap 2

01

5)

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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3.0 Primary Field Investigations

The collection of first hand field work is an extremely important stage for the completion of any

project, as being able to see first-hand the different localities and their various characteristics

helps with gathering very specific details of an area. The data collected included the following:

Coastal defences currently in place at each locality

Geomorphology of the different localities

Exposed geology and outcrops

Effects erosional processes have had on the cliff faces

Community responses to coastal erosion and management taking place

These steps took place in order to create different maps and models for the North Norfolk

Coastline, these maps include:

Vulnerability and Hazard Map

Predicted Coastal Retreat Map

Coastal Ground Model

Results of Community Responces

A field data collection plan had been designed prior to the fieldwork taking place which included

the different localities that needed to be visited on the 14 days of data collection that took place

and the different observations that needed to be made, this ensured that all fieldwork days were

used to their full potential. While planning the different localities to go, routes were also planned

to allow ease of getting to these different areas, however some new routes had to be calculated

on the day while present at the location because of recent landslide events, this was especially

evident at Happisburgh where the cliff had been eroded at the toe causing its collapse therefore

access to the area being restricted.

3.1 Site Reconnaissance

A full walk over of all the areas that were within the initial plan had to take place to insure that

all the information that had been collected during the desk study stage was correct and accurate

for the day that it was being collected. This meant that any new management and landslide

events could be recognised and be prepared for prior to the primary data collection and alternate

plans and routes could be created to avoid wasting crucial time needed to collect data within the

field. While executing this walk through prior to the field work it was discovered that some areas

had been fenced off and access was restricted due to environmental protection, which is what

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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20

occurred at Blakeny point, where an area was restricted due to nesting Terns (a type seabird from

the Sternidae family).

3.2 Geological Mapping

In order to identify the different rock types and lithologies along the coast, prior knowledge was

first needed before carrying out the data collection, this was done by using information provided

by the British Geological Survey in combination with maps provided by Ednina Digimap. By

doing so this information along with notes taken in the field of the various lithology descriptions

helped to identify which lithology belonged to which formation. This information collected

within the field then helped with identifying the geological controls that they had on the cliff

profile. The maps used within the field consisted of four separate maps each with a scale of

1:100000, this was to insure that all the different areas along the North Norfolk coast were

included within the field work with enough detail and information for each of them. Plates 2 to 6

represent the different lithologies that were acquired during the primary data collection.

Plate 2 – White Chalk and Red Limestone,

Hunstanton

8m

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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Plate 3 – Chalk Outcrop at low tide, Sherringham

Plate 4 – Chalk Outcrop, West Runton

Approx 1m

Ap

pro

x. 4

.5m

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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Plate 5 – Interglacial deposits with Till overlain by Chalk,

West Runton

Plate 6a – Happisburgh Till

Ap

pro

x. 4

m

Ap

pro

x. 6

m

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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3.3 Geomorphological Observations

Assessing the geomorphological features within the field was an important step within the data

collection stage of the project as it helped with identifying the different features that existed

along the coastline. These features included:

The topography of the different cliffs, including their steepness and the changes of the

incline of the cliffs as you move along the shore

The change of shape of the shoreline in response to the man-made defences that have

been implemented

The change in the shape of the shoreline in response to the coastal erosion

Plate 7 and figure 11 represent some of the observations made relating to the geomorphology

along the Norfolk coastline.

Plate 6b – Contact between till base layer and overlying saturated

lake sediments, Happisburgh

Ap

pro

x. 1

.5m

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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Plate 7 – Protruding Till and Boulder Clay at the base of the cliff with

overlain by weaker unconsolidated sandy layer, Happisburgh

Figure 11 – Offshore Reefs with sandbanks reaching out to them

due to longshore drift, Sea Palling (Sea Palling Beach Norfolk

Tourist Information, accessed 2015)

Ap

pro

x. 6

m

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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25

3.4 Questionnaires on Public Response

While taking part in the primary data collection stage of the project, Questionnaires were carried

out in the different villages located along the North Norfolk Coast to judge the community

response to the coastal retreat and the management techniques that have been implemented.

These questionnaires included questions to asses if local residents were aware of the different

management techniques that were in place, if they agreed with these techniques and if they felt

that further protection was needed. An example of the questionnaire filled out by a local resident

is shown in appendix 1.

3.5 Observational Survey

By carrying out an observational survey of the different areas along the North Norfolk Coastline

it was possible to recognise individual features that are a sign of the constant battering that the

cliff face and installed coastal defences go through due to the storm surge events and wave

action they are subjected to. Some signs of land sliding were also evident in areas where the

unstable cliff had been undercut and unconsolidated sandy material had fallen done, as seen in

plates 8 and 9. Plates 10a and 10b also show how man-made structures such as coastal defences

even struggle to cope with the constant wave energy.

Plate 8 – Landslip at Weybourne

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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26

Plate 9 – Landslide at Trimingham

Plate 10a – Broken and Weathered Revetments,

Happisburgh

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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Plate 10b – Extent of Storm Damage to Beach

Revetments

Figure 12 – A comparison of photos taken in 2009 (left) and 2012 (right) of beach

access stairs in Happisburgh

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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4.0 Results Presentation

4.1 Field Investigation Summary

Whilst carrying out the field investigation it had been discovered that the North Norfolk

coastline is extremely vulnerable to the effects of coastal erosion due to the unconsolidated

nature of the lithologies present at each of the outcrops. Although many different management

techniques can be observed along the shoreline, for example the building of offshore reefs at Sea

Palling, groynes at Waxham and multiple defences at Happisburgh such as rip rap, revetments

and groynes. It has been observed that although these management techniques have been

implemented, the cliffs are still retreating. This is made obvious by the evident land slips and

landslides that have occurred in Trimingham and Weybourne due to the cliffs being subjected to

constant wave action, loosening their materials and causing them to fall. Many homes, industry

and tourism sites are in line with the coast are each year the number of sites will increase as

coastal retreat increases along with the increasing affects of climate change. It was found that the

areas most affected by coastal retreat were the areas of Happisburgh and Trimingham, even

though these were the areas with the most mitigation techniques installed, some of which

however have not been maintained made evident by the reminisce of old broken revetments and

groynes. They are most vulnerable because of the nature of the cliff faces, consisting of

unconsolidated boulder clay and glacial till that have low plastic and liquid limits, meaning that

geology of these areas make the cliffs likely to fail due to saturation from constant interaction

from water in the form of waves, rain and storm surges. By interacting with local residents in

these areas whilst in the field along with information collected from the desk study, it was

discovered that the occurrence of storm surges and storm like events have increased massively

over the years, leading to an increase in retreat, some even losing their homes as the cliffs

became undercut and eroded, eventually causing them to topple off the cliffs edge and onto the

shore.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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29

4.2 Geological Interpretation

By examining each of the locations on during the fieldwork days it was possible to identify the

different lithologies that were in the cliff faces. These lithologies consisted mainly of glacial till

and boulder clays which when became saturated, as shown in plate 6b, they became very weak

and susceptible to erosion. However this till member was a long stronger to the weaker sand

member lain above it, as shown in plate 7, which means the base of some parts of the cliffs along

the North Norfolk coast are protruding, this in tern means that the beach profile becomes

shallower over time meaning the cliffs have less protection from the erosion.

4.3 Hazards and Vulnerability Map Interpretation

The hazard and vulnerability maps that have been created, shown in figure 13, represents the

different areas and at what level of risk they are at dependant on the level of mitigation that is

currently taking place. The map also indicates the areas that are most susceptible to landsliding

hazards and flooding hazards due to the stratigraphy of the area and also the flat topography of

the cultivated areas that are lived on within Norfolk, meaning the water that enters these areas

from storm surge or rainfall events have no run off area, meaning water builds up causing

flooding.

The map also shows the prediction of just how much the coastline will retreat inland in 30 years

due to the coastal erosion occurring. It shows that within 30 years the North Norfolk Coastline

will retreat by 150m this is if there are no changes made to any coastal defences and climate

change is not taken into account. These figures were calculated by working along with the

current erosion rates shown in appendices 2 and 3.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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30

Fig

ure

13

– H

aza

rd, V

uln

era

bili

ty a

nd

Pre

dic

ted

Ret

rea

t M

ap

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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31

4.4 Community Responses

Carrying out a questionnaire to local residents that lived within these hazard areas that were

being affected proved very worth while as it provided a change for to get a public reaction to the

mitigation taking place and if they are agreed upon or not. Graphs 1 and 2 show the result of 20

questionnaires given out to 20 different residents in various areas along the coast.

Do you agree with the management techniques in place?

Yes

No, Improvement isneeded

Graph 1 – Results of the questionnaire given to locals to

assess if they agree with current management

techniques in place

012345678

How do you feel about coastal defeces in your area?

Graph 2 – Results of the questionnaire given to local

residents to assess how they feel about the coastal defences

within their area

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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32

By assessing the graphs produced by the information provided within the questionnaires is it

extremely obvious to observe that local residents mainly feel that more action should take place

to protect their villages and communities, with graph 1 showing a 77% of people asked said that

they need improvement as although there are some defences in place, maintenance of these

defences are poor so need to be improved to help slow down erosion rates. Graph 2 shows the

same type of information, with the majority of the 20 people asked saying that the coastal

defences on the North Norfolk Coast were necessary and advantageous.

4.5 Ground Model Analysis

Figure 14 shows a 3D conceptual model of a cliff face in Happisburgh, this model includes:

The geology within the cliffs

The geomorphology of the area, mainly being the steepness of the cliff

The defence mechanisms and management schemes put in place

Potential landslip hazard

The model presents a scenario where the cliff has been undercut by multiple storm surge events

and constant wave action, leaving the already very steep cliff slightly undercut. In order to stop

further undercutting; riprap and gabions are installed at the base of the cliff to absorb the wave’s

energy as they come into contact with the concrete blocks. However as the cliff as already been

undercut by previous events, it means that the head of the cliff is unstable and could lead to a

rotational slip of material occurring and falling due to gravity and a lack of support at the base of

the cliff.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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33

Fig

ure

14

– C

on

cep

tua

l m

od

el o

f H

ap

pis

bu

rgh

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

erosional and storm surge events

34

5.0 Mitigation

5.1 Current Defences

It is very obvious that a lot of time and planning has gone into managing and attempting to

protect the North Norfolk coastline, as shown in the Shoreline Management Plan published by

the Norfolk County Council in 2009. The daily erosion that the cliffs undergo from constant

wave action and water saturation mean that multiple defences have been put in place in order to

protect the many communities and settlements being affected by the retreat as shown in figure

15. Although there are these engineered defences in place, many have suffered severe damage as

the years have gone on and unfortunately, not many attempts have been made to try and maintain

the defences that have been destroyed, this is especially obvious in Happisburgh, where remains

of old groynes and revetments, as shown in plates 10a and 10b, have been left to deteriorate on

the beach front whilst leaving the cliff faces unprotected from the natural forces. The reason for

the lack of action is because in the Shoreline Management Plan in most areas it is stated that

there will be No Active Intervention, meaning no management will be carried out within these

areas, and Managed Retreat, meaning that they will be managed and maintained, however they

will allow the coast to move inland at a steady rate.

There are however areas where there is a combination of hard and soft engineering techniques in

place, these areas include Waxham, where groynes are installed along with building up of sand

dunes, similar to Horsey Gap, where a concrete sea wall is built along with sand dunes (plate

11).

Plate 11 – Concrete sea wall and sand dunes at Horsey

Gap

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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35

Fig

ure

15

– M

ap

sh

ow

ing

th

e d

iffe

ren

t d

efen

ces

alo

ng

the

No

rth

No

rfo

lk C

oa

st

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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36

5.2 Suggested Mitigation Techniques

In order to provide sufficient enough protection for the North Norfolk Coast to massively slow

down the coastal erosion and retreat that is occurring, it would cost the Norfolk County Council

millions of pounds, which according the cost benefit analysis they are unable to fund because of

the rural nature of the area, meaning that they are unwilling to provide money to protect these

areas and would rather use the budget on more urban areas that are of a large value to protect

even though there would be a great loss to agricultural land, settlements and communities,

however there is still the fact that it is not financially viable for any governmental and non-

governmental authorities to fund.

The council could however try harder to maintain the heavily damaged defences that are already

in place, this would cost less money and would still provide the coast with some protection until

maintenance is needed again. Alternatively, money spent on repairing old and deteriorated

defences could be used to help local residents find a newer safer place to live, as their homes get

closer to the edges of the cliffs.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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37

6.0 Discussion

The main discussions that occur within the project areas are in regards to the mitigation

processes and management techniques that are put in place by governmental authorities. There

are constant arguments occurring between these authorities and local residents as these residents

feel that not enough is being done to try and save their homes. Although there is a Shoreline

Management Plan put in place by the Norfolk County Council in 2009, there are many rules are

regulations that it has to abide by including one which states that “The economic values must be

considered while the different populations that live around these areas adapt to the changes

taking place” (Norfolk County Council, 2009), which simply translates into the Council being

unwilling continue implementing new mitigation plans as they feel that the land that will be

claimed by the sea is not of enough value to save, so local residents have no choice but to move

out of these areas.

Some parts of the coast have however been awarded with an Area Of Outstanding Natural

Beauty (AONB), reason being that it contributes elements of its physical character which need to

be conserved, this includes its geology, with its varied rock types and soils and the area’s range

of species and habitat (Norfolk Coast Partnership, 2011), which means that these are the areas

that the council feel are worth protecting because of their natural diversity. The fact that these

areas are more valued due to their biodiversity and rare geology than areas where the

population’s lives are at risk is made obvious by the level of protection implemented within these

areas that have been awarded AONB’s. This is especially shown in areas such Cley-Salthouse,

which is a protected area along the North Norfolk Coast that has had a lot of funding into

management techniques in order to slow down coastal erosion, in this case the installation of

shingle banks along the shore front to break wave energy.

Another point of discussion that is put across is the effects that climate change will have on the

rate of erosion, as pointed out in section 2.6; predicting the future state of the North Norfolk

coastline is extremely difficult as inter-relationships between these parameters are not well

established and differences in future climate change scenarios are not quantifiable to an

acceptable degree of accuracy (Thorne et al., 2007). This means that there will never be an exact

number for the amount of erosion that is going to take place in the future due to the uncertainties

regarding climate change, including unknown figures on the occurrences of storm surges and the

amount they will increase by and also how much the sea levels will rise by. These however can

be monitored at present day and idea can be provided by incorporating past data from storm

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

erosional and storm surge events

38

surge occurrences and sea levels and how they have increased in the present day with the current

state of climate change.

In regards to the North Norfolk Coast and the way it was formed, there is no argument that it was

mainly deposited during glaciation, meaning that most of the materials are composed of till and

boulder clay overlain by lake sediments, however it is a disputed subject regarding the amount of

time taken for these different layers to form. The coast is made up of deposits from the seas and

ice sheets that came over Norfolk many times in the Pleistocene, leaving a complex sequence of

marine and terrestrial sediments which includes many gaps in the record; making up the

superficial geology (Norfolk Coast Partnership, 2011). These gaps mean that depositional

periods are still as of yet not completely known.

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

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39

7.0 Conclusion

7.1 Summary Of Conclusions

The North Norfolk Coastline is mainly made up of unconsolidated Glacial Till and

Boulder clay in combination with white and red Chalk subgroups and Sandy Formations.

The constant attack of wave energy against the cliffs faces is causing the coastline to

retreat as the sediments become saturated, dislodged and carried away with the sea.

The North Norfolk Coast has been subjected to a multitude of storm surge events

beginning with the largest event in 1953, which have then slowly been increasing in

occurrences as years go on and climate change becomes more of a well-known issue.

The Norfolk County Council has implemented the Shoreline Management Plan since

2009 in order to divide the coast into sub-cells, which then each have their own policy

and plan dependent of the areas characteristics.

Climate change is playing a major factor on the increased rate of erosion as sea levels rise

and storm surges become more of a regular occurrence.

Community responses along with desk study show that decisions made by the

government in regards of trying to protect these villages could be try and help these

settlements rather than allow the coastline to retreat.

By using current erosion rates for the different areas along the coast, the sea is bound to

claim 150m of land and even more in more vulnerable areas such as Happisburgh and

Trimingham.

7.2 Future Research

Within this particular thesis, the research area was quite broad as it was the entirety of the North

Norfolk Coastline and each of the different areas along it, thus future work could involve more in

depth details about each of the different settlements that are being affected by the coastal retreat,

the rate of erosion and responses to the remediation in each of these different areas.

Future work could also involve the change in sea level dependent on controlling factors that are

occurring in different parts of the world, in this example, it is known that when the Palm Islands

were built of the coast of the United Arab Emirates, it caused a major change in sea levels, as

sediment were added to the body of water it cause sea levels to rise which may have cause

secondary affects to areas such as the North Norfolk Coast.

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40

8.0 References

A Brief History of Norfolk | North Norfolk Coast Activities & Attractions | Deepdale

Backpackers & Camping (no date) Available at:

http://www.deepdalefarm.co.uk/information/indactivity.asp?A_ID=12 (Accessed: 2 May 2015)

Brennan, R. (2007) ‘The North Norfolk Coastline: A Complex Legacy’, Coastal Management,

35(5), pp. 587–599. doi: 10.1080/08920750701593428

Bridges, E. M. and Association, G. (1991) Classic Landforms of the North Norfolk Coast.

Sheffield: The Geographical Association

Clayton, K. M. (1993) Coastal Processes and Coastal Management. Northampton: Countryside

Commission

DEFRA (1996) ‘Sherringham to Lowestoft Shoreline Management Plan’,

Digimap Home Page (no date) Available at: http://digimap.edina.ac.uk/

Environment Agency (2010) ‘Anglian Coastal Monitering Programme’, Sea State Report 2007-

2008,

Frew, P. (2009) ‘An introduction to the North Norfolk Coastline’, Coastal Management Unit,

Hill, E. (1915) ‘Coast Erosion in Norfolk’, Geological Magazine, 2(10), doi:

10.1017/s0016756800203579

Jones, A. P. and M.E. Tucker & J. Hart (1999) The Description & analysis of quaternary

stratigraphic field sections. London: Quaternary Research Association

Jonkman, S. N. and Kelman, I. (2005) ‘Deaths during the 1953 North Sea Storm Surge’,

Solutions to Coastal Disasters 2005, doi: 10.1061/40774(176)75

Jude, S., Jones, A. P., Andrews, J. E. and Bateman, I. J. (2006) ‘Visualisation for Participatory

Coastal Zone Management: A Case Study of the Norfolk Coast, England’, Journal of Coastal

Research, 226pp. 1527–1538. doi: 10.2112/04-0294.1

Kelman, I. (2002) ‘Physical Flood Vulnerability of Residential Properties in Coastal, Eastern

England’,

Komar, P. D. (1983) Handbook of Coastal Processes and Erosion. Florida: CRC Press

Langslow, D. (2000) ‘North Norfolk’,

May, V. . (2007) Coastal Geomorphology of Great Britain.

Meeres, F. (2010) The north Norfolk Coast. United Kingdom: Phillimore & Co

Norfolk Coast Partnership (2011) Geological Landscapes of the North Norfolk Coast

Norfolk County Council (2009) ‘North Norfolk Shoreline Management Plan’,

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erosional and storm surge events

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Norfolk’s Deep History Coast | 29/03/2015 | Norfolk Coast | News (no date) Available at:

http://www.visitnorfolk.co.uk/inspire/Norfolk-prehistoric-coast.aspx (Accessed: 2 May 2015)

North Norfolk District Council (no date) ‘Introduction to Coastal Management’,

Phillips, E. and Lee, J. R. (2013) ‘Development of a subglacial drainage system and its effect on

glacitectonism within the polydeformed Middle Pleistocene (Anglian) glacigenic sequence of

north Norfolk, Eastern England’, Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, 124(5), pp. 855–

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The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

erosional and storm surge events

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9.0 Appendices

Appendix 1: Example Questionnaire

Appendix 2: Mean Erosion Rates 1966-1985

Appendix 3: Average Erosion Rates

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

erosional and storm surge events

43

Appendix 1: Sample Questionnaire

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

erosional and storm surge events

44

Appendix 2: Mean Erosion Rates 1966-1985

The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future

erosional and storm surge events

45

Appendix 3: Average Erosion Rates