Aug. 7, 2001 Scientists from the University of Newcastle upon
Tyne are making the most accurate measurements ever of the
rapidly receding British coastline, using satellites, a
microlight aircraft and advanced computer technology. A team of
researchers from the university's Department of Geomatics are
conducting a UK pilot project on the North Yorkshire coastline
at Filey Bay, which is estimated to be eroding by 25cm each
year. Coastal erosion is a huge problem nationally and
internationally. In Britain coastal protection work costs
central Government and local authorities millions of pounds each
year - and the cost is rising. With the current measuring
methods, experts are generally only able to provide annual
estimates as to how much the coast is eroding. But researchers
Dr Jon Mills and Simon Buckley, a PhD student, are using new
technology to create a highly accurate 3D computer model which
will illustrate the pattern of erosion and detail when it is
most likely to occur and by how much. Their methods hav