Extreme storms could help protect Cornish beaches from sea-level rise
Part of the international study on coastlines took place at Perranporth
An international study has found severe storms might be helping our coastlines in Cornwall by improving our sea levels.
The report, which studied Perranporth beach alongside others across the world, has found it might protect the coast from rises by bringing in new sand from deeper waters or from nearby beaches.
It comes after images often depict coastal storms to show damage to beaches, dunes, propery and surrounding infrastructure.
Dr Mitchell Harley, Senior Lecturer from UNSW’s Water Research Laboratory, said: “We know that extreme storms cause major coastal erosion and damage to beachfront properties.
“For the first time we looked not just above water, where the impacts of extreme storms are easy to see, but also deep down below it as well. What we found was that hundreds of thousands of cubic metres of sand was entering these beach systems during these events – that’s similar to the scale of what engineers use to nourish a beach artificially.
"This could potentially be enough to offset some of the impacts of sea-level rises caused by climate change, such as retreating coastlines, and by several decades in the long-term. It’s a new way of looking at extreme storms."
The research project was Published in Nature Communications Earth & Environment, and led by the University of New South Wales in collaboration with researchers from the University of Plymouth, the Autonomous University of Baja California and the Met Office.
In it it looked at findings across Australia, the United Kingdom and Mexico, after each of those areas have experiences a series of extreme storms and the results could potentially change how people understand the future of our coastline.
Perranporth beach is one from the study, which has been researched thoroughly since 2006.
Professor Gerd Masselink, who leads the Coastal Processes Research Group at the University of Plymouth, added: “Looking at the extra sand gained by the beach at Perranporth, we are not quite sure whether this has come from offshore or from around the corner, or even both. However, we do now understand that extreme waves can potentially contribute positively to the overall sand budget, despite causing upper beach and dune erosion.
"We have previously shown that coral reef islands could naturally adapt to survive the impact of rising sea levels, and this study shows the changes to our own coastlines could mean the impact of extreme storms are not wholly negative".