Articles | Volume 11, issue 3
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-429-2023
https://doi.org/10.5194/esurf-11-429-2023
Research article
 | Highlight paper
 | 
10 May 2023
Research article | Highlight paper |  | 10 May 2023

Constraints on long-term cliff retreat and intertidal weathering at weak rock coasts using cosmogenic 10Be, nearshore topography and numerical modelling

Jennifer R. Shadrick, Dylan H. Rood, Martin D. Hurst, Matthew D. Piggott, Klaus M. Wilcken, and Alexander J. Seal

Model code and software

mdhurst1/Rocky-Profile-Model: RPM-CRN with Dakota Implementation v1.0 M. D. Hurst, H. Matsumoto, J. R. Shadrick, D. H. Rood, and M. E. Dickson https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5645478

Download
Editor
This paper may be of wider interest as it provides an important quantification of the rates of cliff retreat for the chalk cliff coasts of Southern England and Northern France. This is the first time we have been able to look back at this level of detail and reconstruct how this coastline has changed and retreated.
Short summary
This study uses a coastal evolution model to interpret cosmogenic beryllium-10 concentrations and topographic data and, in turn, quantify long-term cliff retreat rates for four chalk sites on the south coast of England. By using a process-based model, clear distinctions between intertidal weathering rates have been recognised between chalk and sandstone rock coast sites, advocating the use of process-based models to interpret the long-term behaviour of rock coasts.