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Understanding coastal change using shoreline trend analysis supported by cluster-based segmentation

Burningham, H; French, J; (2017) Understanding coastal change using shoreline trend analysis supported by cluster-based segmentation. Geomorphology , 282 pp. 131-149. 10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.12.029. Green open access

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Abstract

Shoreline change analysis is a well defined and widely adopted approach for the examination of trends in coastal position over different timescales. Conventional shoreline change metrics are best suited to resolving progressive quasi-linear trends. However, coastal change is often highly non-linear and may exhibit complex behaviour including trend-reversals. This paper advocates a secondary level of investigation based on a cluster analysis to resolve a more complete range of coastal behaviours. Cluster-based segmentation of shoreline behaviour is demonstrated with reference to a regional-scale case study of the Suffolk coast, eastern UK. An exceptionally comprehensive suite of shoreline datasets covering the period 1881 to 2015 is used to examine both centennial- and intra-decadal scale change in shoreline position. Analysis of shoreline position changes at a 100 m alongshore interval along 74 km of coastline reveals a number of distinct behaviours. The suite of behaviours varies with the timescale of analysis. There is little evidence of regionally coherent shoreline change. Rather, the analyses reveal a complex interaction between met-ocean forcing, inherited geological and geomorphological controls, and evolving anthropogenic intervention that drives changing foci of erosion and deposition.

Type: Article
Title: Understanding coastal change using shoreline trend analysis supported by cluster-based segmentation
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.12.029
Publisher version: http://doi.org/10.1016/j.geomorph.2016.12.029
Language: English
Additional information: © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Keywords: Coastal erosion; Large-scale coastal behaviour; Mesoscale; Cluster analysis; Suffolk; UK
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL SLASH > Faculty of S&HS > Dept of Geography
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/1539863
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