Findings | holdernesscoastline

Findings from Holderness coastline erosionwith the use of Remote sensing and GIS

The Holderness coastline is presented in the diagram above, located on the East coast of England south west of the North Sea. With the use of an ordnance survey map and close view raster data maps the focus area is highlighted in red, which is a section of the bay between Sewerby and Hilderthorpe with a distance of 4525 metres.

Figure: Bridlington along the Holderness coastline

Figure to show the Bridlington coastline.

The diagram above displays the focus area, with the use of census wards, the boundaries for the section of coastline have been presented with the use of a polyline shapefile.

The Holderness coast has one of the fastest eroding coastlines in the world, over time the coastline has retreated inland by a significant amount around 140 metres in 170 years. By using historical data maps the change in the coastline can be presented, a polyline shapefile presents the coastline in the past compared to the present, there is a visible retreat in the coastline before any measurements were taken.

Figure : The diagrams below display ordnance survey map with a google earth image of the coastline at the present day compared to a time in history.

Red = 1846

Blue = 1888

Pink = 1903 to 1950

Lime = 1922

Purple = 1948

Dark green = 2050

As seen from the maps over the past the Holderness coastline has retreat inland and predicted to retreat further by 2050 shown above in Green.

From 1846 to the present and the predicted coastline at 2050, are all plotted on the same display, where the retreating coastline is visibly clear to see. Between 1846 to 1922 the retreat was reaching its highest, on average the coastline eroded 80 metres inland, over the next 40 years erosion began to decreases to an average of 20 to 40 metres from 1922 to 1993. Erosion varies a great deal over history which could have been caused by waves/tidal energy and ability to erode the coastline. Since 1993 erosion rates have increase again retreating the coastline 30 metres to the present day. The Holderness coast is constantly undergoing erosion, without more management techniques such as hard and soft engineering the coastline will continue to erode at a dramatic rate. Scientists predict by 2050 the coastline will erode a further 20 to 30 metres inland. The Holderness coastline is retreating at a rate of 1 to 2 metres every year which proves that erosion rates along the coastline are the highest in Europe.

Figure below to display coastal erosion over a 170 year period.

Over time as erosion has taken its course along the Holderness coastline it has demolished homes, buildings and farmland. Additionally the coastline is predicted to retreat even further by 2050 which puts many villages, homes and other farmland in a vulnerable state. General census data indicates that population from this site has decreased over the past 170 years with few fluctuations. The population of Bridlington, the area of study, between Sewerby and Hilderthorpe has fluctuated over time. Bridlington has generally seen an increase in population from 1911 to 1961 ranging from 7743 to 8814. Census data is collected every 10 years, historical data can be accessed to allow the public to analyse data. However data from each census has either not been recorded for Bridlington or is not accessible as there is a gap in time of population data. Another factors that may affect the results is that the data does not show were people are located, locals from this site may be situated further inland so will not be harmed by erosion for a few hundred years, as this data cannot be shown it is hard to come to a conclusion.

However after the last recordings in 1948 of the coastline, management techniques were put in place in order to protect the coastline, which unfortunately did not have this effect. Groynes were put in place protecting Mappleton but have a reverse effect on the surrounding coast as erosion rates increased. Erosion is seen to increase from the maps provided as there was an increase in the retreat of the coastline from 1991 when management schemes were applied. With the increase in erosion and the retreat of land many homes, buildings and farmlands were washed into the sea people were losing homes and businesses causing people to migrate further inland or to a stable area. As people were educated about erosion, its effects and what may happen in the further there was a dramatic fall in population.

The office of national statistics displays population between 2001 and 2011 census data which has been displayed dependant on where population is placed around the Bridlington site. Identifying from the 10 year difference that population has decreased from the coastline and suggests people have migrated out of the area or further inland as population inland has increased, this may be due to the retreating land caused by erosion and the demolishing land. Along the coastline at Bridlington the population per km2 has declined, from over 6000 per km2 in 2001 with a decline by 2011 to 4000 to 6000 km2. As the coastline declined in population further inland people migrating and building homes as the population increased by 2000. Erosion of the Holderness coastline has caused a change in the population as people are moving away from the coastline as homes and land are being washed to sea, with some moving further inland and hundreds of the population migrating out of the area to more stable land.

Figures above collected to prove population change.

http://www.visionofbritain.org.uk/unit/10173528/theme/POP

Figure above to present population decline between 2001 and 2011 from the office of national statistics.

Ons.gov.uk, (2016). Search Results - ONS. [online] Available at: http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/search/index.html?newquery=bridlington+population [Accessed 24 Jan. 2016].