COASTAL PROCESSES

• As the coastline is exposed to the power of the sea it tries to adapt to minimise the effects. For example waves from the southwest will move beach material northeastwards to create a beach alignement that is more parallel to the waves.
• Another example is that during a storm the beach will flatten which result in a profile that reduces the wave energy reaching the top of the beach. This change is known over the short term as coastal processes and over longer times scales as 'geomorphological change'.
• It may not be possible to provide sea defences that will survive in the longer term and the costs will increase with an increase in the water level and an increase in storms or a change in the direction of storms.