Appendices
321
Gone are the days that only forlorn offshore lighthouses dotted the cliff
landscape. Human settlements, coastal roads, tourism in most of its
manifestations have brought about strong modifications affecting the stability of
cliffs : changes in the position of the phreatic layer, weight of constructions,
damage to the natural plant cover. Where beaches spread at the foot of the cliff,
their shrinking in turn endangers the cliff which no longer remains stabilized. A
certain number of steps can be taken to brake the retreat of cliffs ; they include
drainage measures, reducing the gradient (scarp slope), creating an artificial
beach at the foot of the cliff, placing a barrage of rocks there, consolidating the
base into a retaining wall, and even covering the summit with vegetation like
Eucalyptus trees.
Keeping in mind that cliff retreat is a natural phenomenon, loss of land must be
accepted and a line of construction way back from the edge is a protection which
any builder must accept, no matter the song sung by developers. If the drowning
of Charleston SC is economically unthinkable, so are some cliff sites and in such
cases, protection measures must be undertaken. A classic example followed by
one of the authors is the C6te des Basques, near Biarritz, France (Combe, M.,
1987, Un exemple de stabilisation : la cbte des Basques h Biarritz : Actes du Coll.
Mer & Littoral, Couple ~ Risque, Paris, La Documentation Franqaise, pp. 484495.). At a cost of some US$ 6 million, 1 km (0.62 mi) of coastline was protected
by implantation of groins to favor development of a pebble beach, and
construction of a rock protected wall.
Bird, E.C.F., 1983 ; Factors influencing beach erosion and accretion : a global
review. In : McLachlan, A. & Erasmus, T. (eds), Sandy beaches as ecosystems :
The Haghe, W. Junk.
Blanc, J.J., 1979, Protection des littoraux sableux : mbthodes d'~tudes, l'exemple
de la Camargue : Marseille, CNEXO 56 pp.
Blanc, J.J., 1993, Erosions littorales en Camargue : ~valuation du recul des
plages et analyses prOvisionnelles : Marseilles, Universit6 de Luminy, Fac. des
Sci. 59 pp.
Dubois, R.N., 1992, A re-evaluation of Bruun's Rule and supporting evidence : J.
Coast Res. 3,618-628.
Healy, T., 1991, Coastal erosion and sea-level rise : Zit. f. Geomorph., Neue R.,
Suppl. 81, 15-29.
Leonard, L.A., Dixon, K.L. & Pilkey, O.H., 1990, A comparison of beach
replenishment on the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts : J. Coast. Res. (spec.
nbr) 6, 127-140.
321
Gone are the days that only forlorn offshore lighthouses dotted the cliff
landscape. Human settlements, coastal roads, tourism in most of its
manifestations have brought about strong modifications affecting the stability of
cliffs : changes in the position of the phreatic layer, weight of constructions,
damage to the natural plant cover. Where beaches spread at the foot of the cliff,
their shrinking in turn endangers the cliff which no longer remains stabilized. A
certain number of steps can be taken to brake the retreat of cliffs ; they include
drainage measures, reducing the gradient (scarp slope), creating an artificial
beach at the foot of the cliff, placing a barrage of rocks there, consolidating the
base into a retaining wall, and even covering the summit with vegetation like
Eucalyptus trees.
Keeping in mind that cliff retreat is a natural phenomenon, loss of land must be
accepted and a line of construction way back from the edge is a protection which
any builder must accept, no matter the song sung by developers. If the drowning
of Charleston SC is economically unthinkable, so are some cliff sites and in such
cases, protection measures must be undertaken. A classic example followed by
one of the authors is the C6te des Basques, near Biarritz, France (Combe, M.,
1987, Un exemple de stabilisation : la cbte des Basques h Biarritz : Actes du Coll.
Mer & Littoral, Couple ~ Risque, Paris, La Documentation Franqaise, pp. 484495.). At a cost of some US$ 6 million, 1 km (0.62 mi) of coastline was protected
by implantation of groins to favor development of a pebble beach, and
construction of a rock protected wall.
Bird, E.C.F., 1983 ; Factors influencing beach erosion and accretion : a global
review. In : McLachlan, A. & Erasmus, T. (eds), Sandy beaches as ecosystems :
The Haghe, W. Junk.
Blanc, J.J., 1979, Protection des littoraux sableux : mbthodes d'~tudes, l'exemple
de la Camargue : Marseille, CNEXO 56 pp.
Blanc, J.J., 1993, Erosions littorales en Camargue : ~valuation du recul des
plages et analyses prOvisionnelles : Marseilles, Universit6 de Luminy, Fac. des
Sci. 59 pp.
Dubois, R.N., 1992, A re-evaluation of Bruun's Rule and supporting evidence : J.
Coast Res. 3,618-628.
Healy, T., 1991, Coastal erosion and sea-level rise : Zit. f. Geomorph., Neue R.,
Suppl. 81, 15-29.
Leonard, L.A., Dixon, K.L. & Pilkey, O.H., 1990, A comparison of beach
replenishment on the U.S. Atlantic, Pacific and Gulf coasts : J. Coast. Res. (spec.
nbr) 6, 127-140.