A probabilistic assessment of future coastal groundwater levels in a dune system in England

Clarke, D. and Sanitwong Na Ayuttaya, S. (2007) A probabilistic assessment of future coastal groundwater levels in a dune system in England. International Conference on Management and Restoration of Coastla Dunes, Santander, Spain. 03 - 05 Oct 2007.

Record type: Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)

Abstract

Groundwater in coastal dune systems is affected by many factors including rainfall, sea level, erosion, aquifer recharge and land use. Observed groundwater conditions in an unconfined sand dune aquifer in North West England were used to create a water balance model which simulates that changes in water table levels in the dune system. The calibrated model was then used to simulate the impacts of climate change, relative sea level rise and coastal erosion on the groundwater storage in an unconfined coastal aquifer. Findings show that Groundwater levels in unconfined costal aquifers are most sensitive to the amount and timing of rainfall, partly sensitive to coastal erosion and less sensitive to sea level rise, land use cover and changes in evapotranspiration. Further work is ongoing investigating land use changes on aquifer recharge. We will use this information to develop models to simulate the extent of fresh water ponds in the dune system which are vital to the flora and fauna in the dune system

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