Beach Sustainability

The sustainability of the beaches in East Sussex has been investigated by the BERM (Beach Erosion in the Rives Manche) project at the University of Sussex 2000 -2001.
Follow this link to the BERM website . The interim report provides a good overview to the topic.
Jennings and Smythe have put forward the argument that most of the natural shingle on the Sussex beaches is fossil, i.e. that it formed during the last ice age under periglacial conditions and was moved shoreward with the rising sealevel. They base their argument on geomorphic evidence and assume that landward transport of shingle ceased around 300 years ago. Since then only longshore movement has taken place. They provide a rule of thumb calculation for the shingle input from cliff retreat but otherwise lack a more detailed quantification of the shingle budget.
The BERM project has provided much more detailed figures for the flint input from cliff and shoreplatform erosion and provided first estimates towards the abrasion of shingle on the beach.
Please see the project summary for a brief overview of the results or go to the detailed report.
The findings support the argument of Jennings and Smythe but show that the situation is much worse. The shingle input into the coastal zone is about 1/5 of that estimated by Jennings and Smythe, whereby the coastal defence works at Peacehaven have only a minor impact. The BERM project also showed, that flint abrades on beach under the influence of the waves at a rate that potentially has a large impact on short-term geological time scales (over a few thousand years).