Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Montrose and St Andrews targeted in coastal erosion study

Coastal erosion on the Angus coastline near Montrose.
Coastal erosion on the Angus coastline near Montrose.

St Andrews and Montrose Bay are to be the focus of a major research programme into coastal erosion.

The two sites will be monitored as part of the latest phase of the Dynamic Coast project, which will identify links between erosion and flooding.

It comes after the national coastal change assessment programme predicted climate change could damage nearly a fifth of Scotland’s coastline.

Dynamic Coast’s principal investigator, Professor Jim Hansom, said the issue was of pressing importance to people living and working close to the sea.

“We are now facing decades of future sea level rise and increasing erosion and flooding at the coast, so we need to better understand the increased risk posed by climate change to coastal assets and communities,” he said.

“We need to know whether to adapt, defend or move those coastal assets as well as how social justice might be better incorporated into future policies.

“Failure to act now will lead to enhanced costs and impacts later.”

The research, led by the Scottish Government and Scottish Natural Heritage will be carried out by the University of Glasgow with funding from CREW (Centre for Expertise in Water).

It will focus on a series of sites, including the two in Fife and Angus, as well as Skara Brae in Orkney.

Researchers will work with bodies such as local councils, SEPA and Historic Environment Scotland to develop action plans.

Environment Secretary Roseanna Cunningham said: “Rising sea levels, increased coastal erosion and flooding have caused substantial damage to our coastlines and communities over the last few decades and the pace of erosion is increasing.

“We need to take action now to adapt and adjust to these changes.”

Scottish Natural Heritage chairman Mike Cantlay said Scotland’s beaches and dunes played a vital role in protecting £13 billion worth of buildings and roads.

“By their dynamic nature, shifting sand dunes can replenish areas of shoreline, as such they are our natural defences,” he said.

“This ensures that our beaches and dunes can be a natural ally in combating the effects of climate change.

“And by working with nature at the coast, we can help ease and adapt to climate change impacts – in particular sea level rise and storms.”