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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
1
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
2
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)
N
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
erosional and storm surge events
3
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
erosional and storm surge events
4
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
erosional and storm surge events
5
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)
The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future
erosional and storm surge events
6
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
The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future
erosional and storm surge events
7
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
erosional and storm surge events
8
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
erosional and storm surge events
9
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
10
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
erosional and storm surge events
11
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The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future
erosional and storm surge events
12
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
The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future
erosional and storm surge events
13
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
erosional and storm surge events
14
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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17
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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18
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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19
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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21
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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22
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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23
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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24
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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27
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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28
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
erosional and storm surge events
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
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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
erosional and storm surge events
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
erosional and storm surge events
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.
The geomorphological changes of the North Norfolk coastline in relation to past and future
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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–
875. doi: 10.1016/j.pgeola.2012.07.005
Poulten, C., Lee, J., Hobbs, P., Jones, L. and Hall, M. (2007) ‘Preliminary investigation into
monitoring coastal erosion using terrestrial laser scanning : case study at Happisburgh, Norfolk’,
Monitoring Coastal Erosion using Terrestrial Laser Scanning,
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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