Contribution of Community and Citizen Science to the Monitoring of Coastal Cliff Erosion

Burningham, H.; Gong, J., and Tricker, R., 2024. Contribution of community and citizen science to the monitoring of coastal cliff erosion. In: Phillips, M.R.; Al-Naemi, S., and Duarte, C.M. (eds.), Coastlines under Global Change: Proceedings from the International Coastal Symposium (ICS) 2024 (Doha, Qatar). Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 113, pp. 266-271. Charlotte (North Carolina), ISSN 0749-0208. The public are increasingly encouraged to participate in research activities in efforts to elevate the quantity and diversity of data in science. In the Deben estuary, the community-led PhotoPost initiative, similar to the popular CoastSnap, has already amassed over 2500 photos across 9 locations since the project started in 2021. Images are publicly accessible as a growing gallery and archive. Images are also reviewed, described and analysed offline; the findings are disseminated online and in a pop-up exhibition that opens for half the year to disseminate locally generated information. The initiative enhances local understanding of coastal change and increases engagement of communities in enriching the knowledge of the wider public. We describe one specific photo post location that is providing new insights to the analysis of coastal erosion beyond that which can be understood from the national monitoring effort. Over 500 images of a view of an eroding cliff and beach have been uploaded since December 2020, and in that time the cliff has eroded around 12 m. But in the last 3 years, we can now demonstrate that erosion is a persistent behaviour throughout the year, that land slips can arise in response to several different coastal climate factors, and that overburden plays an important role in reducing cliff strength and enabling erosion.