CHAPTER 14
Determination and Prediction of Sediment Yields from Recession of
the Holderness Coast
R. Newsham, P.S. Balson, D.G. Tragheim, and A.M. Denniss
ABSTRACT: The rapidly eroding cliffs and foreshore of the Holderness Coast
represent one of the largest sources of sediment discharging in the southern North Sea.
For effective coastal management it is important to understand the sediment sources,
transport pathways and depositional sinks. The sediment budget is regarded as one of
the key information needs for sustainable planning and management. In order to
quantify the sediment yield from recession of the Holderness Coast, digital
photogrammetry has been used, together with nearshore bathymetric survey data, to
produce a single DTM for a length of over 52 kilometres of coastline. Other data
including geological sections, sediment lithology, recession rates and the location of
coastal defences have been added to the DTM to create a GIS for the Holderness Coast.
The GIS has been used to predict the volume and nature of the sediment yield
assuming that historical recession rates continue. The GIS can also be used to predict
future yields using assumptions of accelerated recession or the implications of arrested
retreat due to construction of defences.
Introduction
The Holderness Coast stretches for over 50 kilometres from the Chalk promontory of
Flamborough Head in the north to the shingle spit of Spurn Head at the mouth of the
Humber Estuary in the south (Fig. 1). The coastline consists dominantly of cliffs up to
38 metres high in unlithified glacial tills and other glacigenic sediments. The coast
D.R. Green and S.D. King (eds.), Coastal and Marine Geo-Information Systems, 191–199.
© 2003 All Rights Reserved. Printed in the Netherlands.
191
Determination and Prediction of Sediment Yields from Recession of
the Holderness Coast
R. Newsham, P.S. Balson, D.G. Tragheim, and A.M. Denniss
ABSTRACT: The rapidly eroding cliffs and foreshore of the Holderness Coast
represent one of the largest sources of sediment discharging in the southern North Sea.
For effective coastal management it is important to understand the sediment sources,
transport pathways and depositional sinks. The sediment budget is regarded as one of
the key information needs for sustainable planning and management. In order to
quantify the sediment yield from recession of the Holderness Coast, digital
photogrammetry has been used, together with nearshore bathymetric survey data, to
produce a single DTM for a length of over 52 kilometres of coastline. Other data
including geological sections, sediment lithology, recession rates and the location of
coastal defences have been added to the DTM to create a GIS for the Holderness Coast.
The GIS has been used to predict the volume and nature of the sediment yield
assuming that historical recession rates continue. The GIS can also be used to predict
future yields using assumptions of accelerated recession or the implications of arrested
retreat due to construction of defences.
Introduction
The Holderness Coast stretches for over 50 kilometres from the Chalk promontory of
Flamborough Head in the north to the shingle spit of Spurn Head at the mouth of the
Humber Estuary in the south (Fig. 1). The coastline consists dominantly of cliffs up to
38 metres high in unlithified glacial tills and other glacigenic sediments. The coast
D.R. Green and S.D. King (eds.), Coastal and Marine Geo-Information Systems, 191–199.
© 2003 All Rights Reserved. Printed in the Netherlands.
191