23.05.2006
The unpredictability of chalk cliff collapse is causing difficult long term planning decisions for many coastal-based local authorities in Southern England.
Climate change is now accelerating the natural process of cliff weathering
and erosion, that are important to the region for their scientific and
economic value and national heritage.
The natural evolution of the cliffs is something that needs to be understood in more detail in order to properly plan for the future of development based on the cliff top and cliff edge.
In response, the University of Brighton and Brighton and Hove City Council have set up the Information for Cliff Recession Management (INFORM) project to tackle the issue.
With world chalk expert Professor Rory Mortimore managing the project and James Lawrence working full time as a Research Officer, the team will monitor the impact of cliff recession and initially the project will concentrate on Black Rock, at Brighton Marina to Saltdean.
This will fulfil the recommendations of the council's Shoreline Management Plan, which involves balancing environmentally acceptable management practise with an approach, which focuses on sustaining communities and infrastructure.
This project builds on the considerable expertise of Professor Mortimore and the Applied Geology Research Unit which has been developed via several high profile European Research Projects Programmes. These identified a number of possible ways to predict cliff collapse and the effects of climate change on coastal regions.
The INFORM project has received secured £100,000 of funding from Brighton and Hove City Council and will run for approximately four years.
Contact: Marketing and Communications, University of Brighton, 01273 643022
