- The power of the sea has shaped Ireland’s coast into what we can see today. Two main processes are responsible for this; erosion and deposition. Coastal erosion is the breaking down and carrying away of materials by the sea. Deposition is when material carried by the sea is deposited or left behind on the coast.
- Ireland has coastline of approximately 7400 km (+/-5%). Topography, together with linked geological controls, has resulted in extensive (3000 km) rock-dominated coasts. This is particularly so for the southwestern, western and northern regions of Ireland. In contrast, the eastern and south-eastern regions are composed of unconsolidated Quaternary glacigenic sediments and fewer rock exposures. Glacial and fluvial actions have also created major sedimentary areas on the western coasts in the form of large bays and estuaries.
- Within the different coastal settings, significant coastal systems include those of cliffs, beaches, and barriers (sand and gravel types); lagoons; dunes and machair (sand ‘‘plains’’); and salt marshes, mudflats and other wetlands. Coastal flooding and erosion pose serious threats to Ireland's economy, society and natural environment, and this is particularly the case as Ireland's major cities (Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Galway) are located on the coast. Coastal flooding occurs when high tides, surges and wave-overtopping combine to inundate coastal areas. Coastal erosion, which is intimately linked with coastal flooding, occurs when the sea progressively encroaches upon the land.There is a need to understand how climate change will affect coastal flooding in Ireland and what decision-making challenges may benefit from easily accessible climate information.
- Presently, at a national scale (in Ireland), there is no available metocean dataset for future climate scenarios. Therefore, coastal flooding studies that consider climate change are typically carried out using simplified assumptions. These assumptions could include defining a fixed ratio of increase of water level per year, or a fixed percentage change in wind speed and wave height for the mid- and long-term future.
- Neither Ireland nor Northern Ireland has yet adopted a strategic approach to shoreline management. Responsibility for coastal erosion management remains fragmented and practice-led. The emphasis still appears to remain on protection schemes but with an anticipated increased reliance on beach nourishment in Ireland.
- At present, there are no specific national (or islandwide) policies in place to manage the effects of SLR under global warming Awareness of climate-warming issues and flood risk has led many local authorities and the Environmental Protection Agency in the Republic of Ireland (responsible for implementing environmental impact assessments, or EIAs) to prohibit developments in the coastal zone below 3-m msl and close to vulnerable dune and eroding coastal areas. EIAs for large-scale coastal developments are now required. However, politics and money ‘‘speak’’, and planning guidelines are increasingly becoming infringed in the absence of clear ICZM policy and linked legislation.
CITES AND NOTATIONS:
https://www.gsi.ie/en-ie/geoscience-topics/natural-hazards/Pages/Coastal-Erosion.aspx
https://www.climateireland.ie/#!/tools/sectors/coastalAreas
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/0aa269d2e1f64c739d65c4a02aeb917f