The extreme 2013/2014 winter storms: hydrodynamic forcing and coastal response along the southwest coast of England

Abstract

The southwest coast of England was subjected to an unusually energetic sequence of Atlantic storms during the 2013/2014 winter, with the 8-week period from mid-December to mid-February representing the most energetic period since at least 1953. A regional analysis of the hydrodynamic forcing and morphological response of these storms along the SW coast of England highlighted the importance of both storm-and site-specific conditions.The key factor that controls the Atlantic storm wave conditions along the south coast of southwest England is the storm track. Energetic inshore wave conditions along this coast require a relatively southward storm track which enables offshore waves to propagate up the English Channel relatively unimpeded. The timing of the storm in relation to the tidal stage is also important, and coastal impacts along the macro-tidal southwest coast of England are maximised when the peak storm waves coincide with spring high tide. The role of storm surge is limited and rarely exceeds 1 m.The geomorphic storm response along the southwest coast of England displayed considerable spatial variability; this is mainly attributed to the embayed nature of the coastline and the associated variability in coastal orientation. On west-facing beaches typical of the north coast, the westerly Atlantic storm waves approached the coastline shore-parallel, and the prevailing storm response was offshore sediment transport. Many of these north coast beaches experienced extensive beach and dune erosion, and some of the beaches were completely stripped of sediment, exposing a rocky shore platform. On the south coast, the westerly Atlantic storm waves refract and diffract to become southerly inshore storm waves and for the southeast-facing beaches this results in large incident wave angles and strong eastward littoral drift. Many south coast beaches exhibited rotation, with the western part of the beaches eroding and the eastern part accreting.

Extreme Wave Storms and Atmospheric Variability at the Spanish Coast of the Bay of Biscay

“…An interesting feature is the occurrence of the exceptional winter of 2013-2014, at the end of the period of analysis, which offered record-breaking numbers of storms, wave energy, cyclonic activity, and morphological impacts on the coast of France and the UK [48,49]. Analysis is underway on the effects of those storms during the winter of 2014, which also offer a picture of extraordinary damage along the northern coast of Spain in both the natural environment, and on infrastructure and equipment, the restoration of which was worth around €70 million [20].…”

Statistical modeling of interannual shoreline change driven by North Atlantic climate variability spanning 2000–2014 in the Bay of Biscay

“…At the other end of the spectrum, beaches with similar wave exposure may exhibit similar links with weather regimes. Comparative data presented in Masselink et al (2016aMasselink et al ( , 2016b reveal that shoreline change patterns on interannual timescales are very similar at Perranporth beach (SW England) and Truc Vert beach. Future work should involve application of this statistical model to other coasts exposed to waves generated over the North Atlantic Ocean.…”

Storm effects on intertidal invertebrates: increased beta diversity of few individuals and species

“…Previous studies about the influence of storms on coastal soft-sediment ecosystems have shown that storms may have stronger impacts on environmental features than on the fauna (e.g., Saloman & Naughton, 1984; Cochôa, Lorenzi & Borzone, 2006; Alves & Pezzuto, 2009; Harris et al, 2011), and that offshore sediment transport is the dominant geo-morphological response of sedimentary shores to increased wave energy (Masselink et al, 2016). These studies were, however, mostly done on exposed ocean beaches, habitats with fewer species that are well adapted to high-energy conditions (Brown, 1996; Schlacher et al, 2008).…”