Conference highlights climate challenges facing coastal communities

The first ever UK Coastal Research Conference was attended by more than 130 researchers, practitioners and representatives
Coastal communities conference
The University of Plymouth has hosted the UK’s first Coastal Research Conference.
The three-day event, organised by the Coastal Processes Research Group (CPRG), highlighted many of the challenges facing coastal communities as a result of the changing climate.
It was attended by more than 130 researchers, practitioners and representatives from bodies including the Environmental Agency and Natural England.
Developed in partnership with the National Network of Regional Coastal Monitoring Programmes, the event included 58 presentations, 15 research posters, two keynote addresses and a panel debate.
These included topics including the impact of rising sea levels and wave interactions with our coastline, as well as coastal management and hazard prediction.
There was also a workshop on XBeach modelling technology, and a field trip to Start Bay in South Devon to visit communities impacted by coastal erosion and sea level rises over the past century.
The conference reinforces the University’s position at the forefront of coastal research in the UK and internationally.

Almost a third of the delegates at the UK Coastal Research Conference were University of Plymouth graduates, testifying to its significant contribution to the coastal research workforce.

Coastal communities conference - Almost a third of the delegates at the UK Coastal Research Conference were University of Plymouth graduates, testifying to its significant contribution to the coastal research workforce.

This first Coastal Research Conference fills a void between the practitioners and engineers implementing coastal schemes, and the academic community. It is an important step in uniting those working to understand the threats facing our coastal communities, and developing solutions that will address them. The number of delegates who came to Plymouth, and the fact further conferences have already been scheduled, shows there is both an appetite and a need for this type of event in light of our ever-changing climate.

Timothy PoateTimothy Poate
Senior Research Consultant

The UK Coastal Research Conference was attended by more than 130 researchers, practitioners and representatives
Coastal communities conference at the aquarium
Coastal communities conference walking along cliffs

Coastal Processes Research Group (CPRG) 

The Coastal Processes Research Group is an internationally recognised group of researchers, specialising in field studies of coastal processes and seeking to understand and predict the behaviour of coastal and estuarine systems. Research topics include:
  • beach morphodynamics and nearshore sediment transport
  • coastal erosion and storm impacts
  • video monitoring of coastal systems
  • coastal process modelling
  • estuarine processes and evolution.
The group operates a research-informed consultancy CMAR - Coastal Marine Applied Research.
Coastal Processes Research Group Perranporth beach