Objectives
The OPW Pilot Coastal Monitoring Survey Programme (CMSP) is a five year pilot project with the following objectives:
- Implement a regular survey programme, i.e. spring surveys, autumn surveys and surveys following significant storm events, in selected coastal locations to increase our understanding of coastal change in these areas.
- Monitor, quantify and identify coastal change including:
- quantification of rates of change of beach and sea bed sediment levels;
- quantification of rates of change of beach and sea bed sediment volumes;
- identification of submerged features that may influence coastal flood or erosion risk, or influence sediment transport processes;
- identification and monitoring of the coastline, e.g. the vegetation line, etc.;
- identification and quantification of changes in nearshore sediment reservoirs or sinks.
- Inform and support the development and/or updating of numerical coastal process models (hydrodynamic, tide, wave and/or sediment transport), that may be used to update coastal site risk assessments.
- Inform and support the planning, design and construction of new coastal infrastructure.
- Assist with the assessment of the performance new coastal infrastructure.
- Monitor accelerated rates of coastal erosion that may be associated with climate change.
- Stimulate new research and innovation that may be possible based on the availability of this coastal survey information.