Coastal Climate Change - Adaptive management of beaches and coastal waters

European coasts and seas are subject to manifold changes and increasing pressure. Climate change is one of the most important challenges: increasing water and air temperatures, sea level rise, and changes in wind pattern and storm likelihood are directly affecting coasts and seas. Coasts and sea are indirectly affected by changes in river basins as well. For example changing precipitation and runoff patterns together with increasing temperatures and changing agricultural uses will alter nutrient loads delivered to the sea. This will have an effect on eutrophication and coastal and marine water quality. Strong precipitation and flooding events have in several cases caused reduced bathing water quality and temporarily closed beaches. Climate change will most likely increase the likelihood of these events and therefore affect coastal bathing tourism. For the coastline itself, sea level rise is of highest importance and on-going erosion will increase the cost of maintaining beaches. Beaches are an important natural resource for tourism, which is the major source of income for many European coastal regions. Furthermore, coastal tourism and the number of coastal residents are increasing. Higher temperatures, at least in the Baltic, will support this process and increase the pressure on the coast. Coastal squeeze affects various coastal areas, with ever growing numbers of tourists using beaches that are being narrowed by increasing erosion. Climate change might increase income from tourism, but it will also raise the costs of maintaining and protecting infrastructure.
This issue of Coastal & Marine, the EUCC (Coastal & Marine Union) quarterly magazine addresses changes and pressures on European coasts, with particular concern for coastal waters and beaches, and outlines needs for adaptation as well as examples of possible adaptation measures.