BLUEcoast aims to inform coastal management by reducing uncertainties in the prediction of medium-term (years) and long-term (decadal and longer) regional sediment budgets, morphological change and how the coast recovers after sequences of storms.
Key questions are:
- What is the role of sediment type (grain size, cohesiveness, lithology, biological characteristic) and coastal geomorphology on mediating coastal evolution?
- Which processes dictate the crossshore and/or alongshore sediment fluxes of sediment from source to sink?
- What role is played by biotic factors in the ecosystem and to what extend do biotic processes mediate coastal change or stability?
- Which processes govern the recovery period of coastal systems?
- What role is played by local and antecedent conditions?
- How sensitive are coastal systems to changes in external forcings, including the sequencing and frequency and magnitude of extreme events, and including the confounding effect of human interventions?
- How do biological and sedimentary factors combine to determine the resilience and tipping point of the system?
- By engaging with key coastal practitioners, plans have been established to enable our new understanding to directly inform the update of guidance documents on model application for coastal management purposes.
Oceanographic sampling (sensor and mooring equipment)
BLUEcoast