Coast protection local monitoring reports
Monitoring of coastal processes on
the Sefton Coast is primarily carried out by the Council in
conjunction with the Environment Agency and partners in the
Liverpool Bay Coastal Group. There are other sources of data such
as that gathered by wind farm operators, aggregate extraction
companies and ports. However, this information only tells us what
is happening at a point in time under a certain set of conditions.
Whilst we can measure what is happening now we need to understand
what will happen in the future so that we can try and accommodate
these changes. This is where the research element comes in; by
looking in more detail at the available information we can develop
our understanding of the processes and develop predictions for the
future evolution of the coast.
What do we monitor?
- Shoreline and Defence Inspections - to monitor the condition of
defences
- Beach Profile (a line generally perpendicular to the coast) and
Topographic Surveys - looking at long term trends in changes of
beach height
- Estuary marsh edge/extent surveys
- Sediment sampling and particle-size analyses to identify where
the sediments are coming from and going to- looking at long term
trends which will inform predictions
- Littoral Drift Measurements - measuring movement of sand along
the coast
- Estuary hydrographic (seabed levels) surveys
- Offshore hydrographic extension of selected beach profiles
- Vertical Aerial Photography - a photo that can be laid over a
map and identify changes over time
- Monitoring of behaviour and performance of sand dunes -
especially during storm events and how they recover after
storms
- Inshore wave climate definition and recording - what waves we
can expect to get close to shore
- Storm Typicality and Energy Assessments- this provides a
measure of how stormy the year has been
- Tide Level Recording
The following reports summarise
the coastal process monitoring and coastal defence work carried out
by Sefton Council between 2000-2004 and provide relevant background
and historic information for each of the areas. The coast has
been divided into six areas plus the two
major estauries, the Mersey and the Ribble. Much of the
information contained within these summaries is based on the
more detailed reports contained elsewhere within this section of
the web site.
The reports below introduce the
shoreline monitoring undertaken on the Sefton Coast, in more
detail, assessing coastal processes and coastal change. The
monitoring system presented in these annual reports are
derived from the Shoreline Management Plan recommendations and is
grant-aided by DEFRA under the Coast Protection Act 1949.
Last Updated on 4/16/2009