EMODnet Geology: pan-European assessment of coastal resilience and vulnerability

Coastal resilience and vulnerability, to marine erosion and flooding, are strongly influenced by geology, geomorphology and the presence or absence of engineering structures. Many studies, using a range of methodologies, have been conducted around the coastline of Europe to assess both resilience and vulnerability. A new EMODnet Geology data product provides a pan-European map visualization, at a range of scales, indicating lower, intermediate and higher levels of coastline vulnerability to erosion and flooding. The shorelines of the Mediterranean and Baltic Seas appear to be less resilient than those of the Atlantic Ocean, Greater North Sea and Black Sea. Estuarine, deltaic and other lowland shorelines with coastal barriers show lower resilience, except where they are managed through nourishments. The map, and associated metadata, provides a tool for users who are interested not only in the pan-European distribution of coastal resilience and vulnerability, but also in the wide range of methodological approaches used in their assessment.