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Mon 13 Oct, 2008 12:54 am
Crumbling coast: South-west England's treasures in danger
Quote:Almost 200 miles of some of the most precious stretches of south-west England's coastline are threatened by rising sea levels, it is claimed today.
Fabulous beaches and cliffs, harbours and buildings are in danger. At least 142 scheduled ancient monuments, 111 listed buildings and one historic garden lie within a "risk zone". More than 100 miles of public rights of way have already been lost, or could be soon.
The claims are made in Shifting Shores, a report published by the National Trust, which warns that 173 miles of the coastline that it cares for in south-west England could be lost or damaged. Amongst the world-famous sites in danger is St Michael's Mount, the island off Penzance in Cornwall. The trust says the causeway which is used to cross to the site at low tide may be lost within 45 years.
National Trust website
Shifting shores
A lot of the post glacial sea level rise has been balanced by gradual uplift along coastal areas that were within the glacial footprint, or were in the footprint of glacial meltwaters.
Weve been monitoring several thousand sea level change areas in the US and of these, few are really seeing any measurable rise. Much of the areas , like the end of the Mississippe Delta, are merely "starved" for sediment .
We've done all sorts of techy flood control things to assist marine transport and agriculture , but many times the beneficial effects are only temporary and often have long term negative costs.
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