Cliff erosion along the Baltic rock coasts: observations, reconstructions, predictions



National Science Centre of Poland grant no. 2023/51/D/ST10/00228 (SONATA 19)
Project timespan: 20.06.2024 - 19.06.2027

Project scope:
Despite considerable population, developed infrastructure and tourist interest, bedrock cliffs of the Baltic Sea have received little scientific interest. A comprehensive global database of coastal cliff retreat rates contains only one study dedicated to the Baltic rock coasts, in which calculated rates are mostly based on a distance change from buildings to the cliff top. Such an approach makes observing gradual versus episodic nature of cliff retreat, constraining underpinning mechanisms, identifying controls on erosion and predicting change difficult over a timescale (years to decades) relevant for coastal management. More generally, there is a pertinent lack of high-quality topographic data and nested studies which would allow better understanding of rock coast dynamics at a range of scales. To fill this gap, the project aims to identify mechanisms of erosion and controls on cliff retreat rates across spatial and temporal scales. The research questions are: What are the morphology and settings of the Baltic rock coasts? What are the controls on contemporary (annual and decadal) cliff retreat rates? How do observed relationships fit into wider spatial (global) and temporal (millennial) context?

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