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The temporal and spatial scales of rocky coast geomorphology: a commentary
Author(s) -
Kennedy David M.,
Coombes Martin A.,
Mottershead Derek N.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
earth surface processes and landforms
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.294
H-Index - 127
eISSN - 1096-9837
pISSN - 0197-9337
DOI - 10.1002/esp.4150
Subject(s) - landform , subaerial , temporal scales , rocky shore , geology , shore , coastal geography , scale (ratio) , range (aeronautics) , spatial ecology , erosion , physical geography , coastal erosion , oceanography , geomorphology , geography , ecology , paleontology , cartography , materials science , composite material , biology
Rocky shores are complex landforms that result from marine erosion and subaerial weathering. They are time‐integrated features where their present day form is the result of instantaneous erosion, often on the millimetre to sub‐metre scale, occurring for centuries to millennia. As a result, research on rocky coasts focuses on a range of temporal and spatial scales from granular‐scale swelling of a rock surface and instantaneous wave impact to modelling millennial‐scale sea level drivers. The challenge for rocky coast researchers is either to upscale or to downscale their results to the human‐timescales of greatest interest to managers. The research presented in Earth Surface Processes and Landforms over the past 3 years highlights the range of spatial and temporal approaches to the study of coastal cliffs and shore platforms. We identify a key temporal and spatial gap in current research. Seasonal–annual timeframes over hundreds of metres to kilometre scale studies appear to be lacking and are likely critical in understanding the future evolution of rocky coasts, especially their response to climate change. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.