Sedimentary Coastal Cliffs of Normandy: Modalities and Quantification of Retreat

ABSTRACT Costa, S.; Maquaire, O.; Letortu, P.; Thirard, G.; Compain, V.; Roulland, T.; Medjkane, M.; Davidson, R.; Graff, K.; Lissak, C.; Delacourt, C.; Duguet, T.; Fauchard, C., and Antoine, R., 2019. Sedimentary coastal cliffs of Normandy: Modalities and quantification of retreat. In: Castelle, B. and Chaumillon, E. (eds.), Coastal Evolution under Climate Change along the Tropical Overseas and Temperate Metropolitan France. Journal of Coastal Research, Special Issue No. 88, pp. 46–60. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208. This paper examines the spatial and temporal variations of cliff retreat rates over multi-temporal data of the Normandy cliffs. Data are derived from historical maps and aerial photographs and from recent lasergrammetry and photogrammetry monitoring. The diachronic analysis of all these data gives retreat rates of -0.1 to -0.5 m/yr. in line with the international literature. The spatial variations of the cliff retreat rates, at the Normandy scale, can be explained by geological structure, especially at the cliff foot, but also by the influence of cliff collapses or anthropogenic obstacles that disrupt the longshore drift. Multi-temporal data shows that the evolution of the cliffs occurs on scales from 10 to 70 years according to the lithology. The high resolution and frequency monitoring also provide information about the factors responsible for triggering gravitational landslides (rockfalls, slides, debris falls). The study proposes a regional warning threshold for the cliff characterized by landslides, under the dominating influence of rainfall and groundwater level evolution. In this respect the monitoring is inconclusive for chalk and limestone cliffs, because the origin of evolutions is more multifactorial (combination of more continental and marine processes).

[1]  A. Trenhaile.  Cliffs and Rock Coasts , 2011 .

[2]  M. Rossi,et al.  The rainfall intensity–duration control of shallow landslides and debris flows: an update , 2008 .

[3]  O. Maquaire,et al.  High-resolution monitoring of complex coastal morphology changes: cross-efficiency of SfM and TLS-based survey (Vaches-Noires cliffs, Normandy, France) , 2018, Landslides.

[4]  D. Delahaye,et al.  Quantification of the Normandy and Picardy chalk cliff retreat by photogrammetric analysis , 2004, Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications.

[5]  Falko Kuester,et al.  New Automated Point-Cloud Alignment for Ground-Based Light Detection and Ranging Data of Long Coastal Sections , 2011 .

[6]  Stéphane Costa,et al.  Statistical and empirical analyses of the triggers of coastal chalk cliff failure , 2015 .

[7]  T. Dewez,et al.  Probabilistic coastal cliff collapse hazard from repeated terrestrial laser surveys: case study from Mesnil Val (Normandy, northern France) , 2013 .

[8]  A. Genter,et al.  Coastal chalk cliff instability in NW France: role of lithology, fracture pattern and rainfall , 2004, Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications.

[9]  R. Gutierrez,et al.  Rain, waves, and short-term evolution of composite seacliffs in southern California , 2009 .

[10]  Kenneth O. Emery,et al.  Sea cliffs: Their processes, profiles, and classification , 1982 .

[11]  Piezometric thresholds for triggering landslides along the Normandy coast, France , 2014 .

[12]  Michael Lim,et al.  Coastline retreat via progressive failure of rocky coastal cliffs , 2013 .

[13]  M. Fressard,et al.  Evolution à long terme des falaises des 'Vaches Noires' et occurrence des glissements (Calvados, Basse-Normandie, France) , 2013 .

[14]  S. Costa,et al.  The gravel beaches in north-west France and their contribution to the dynamic of the coastal cliff/shore platform system , 2006 .

[15]  Pauline Letortu.  Le recul des falaises crayeuses haut-normandes et les inondations par la mer en Manche centrale et orientale : de la quantification de l’aléa à la caractérisation des risques induits , 2013 .

[16]  Guillaume Pierre,et al.  The retreat of chalk cliffs at Cape Blanc-Nez (France): Autopsy of an erosional crisis , 2003 .

[17]  Laser survey and mechanical modelling of chalky sea cliff collapse in Normandy, France , 2007 .

[18]  D. Petley,et al.  Erosional processes in the hard rock coastal cliffs at Staithes, North Yorkshire , 2010 .

[19]  Gloria Senfaute,et al.  Micro-seismic precursory cracks prior to rock-fall on coastal chalk cliffs: a case study at Mesnil-Val, Normandie, NW France , 2009 .

[20]  Rory N. Mortimore,et al.  Lithostratigraphy and biostratigraphy of the lewes and seaford chalks: A link across the Anglo-Paris basin at the Turonian-Senonian boundary , 1987 .

[21]  Candide Lissak.  Les glissements de terrain des versants côtiers du Pays d'Auge (Calvados) : Morphologie, fonctionnement et gestion du risque. , 2012 .

[22]  A. Genter,et al.  Coastal Rock Cliff Erosion by Collapse at Puys, France: The Role of Impervious Marl Seams within Chalk of NW Europe , 2002 .

[23]  S. Costa,et al.  Vitesses et modalités de recul des falaises crayeuses de Haute-Normandie (France) : méthodologie et variabilité du recul , 2014 .

[24]  L. Moore.  Shoreline Mapping Techniques , 2000 .

[25]  Coastal And Submarine Morphology , 2011 .

[26]  Yuriy Reshetyuk,et al.  Terrestrial laser scanning , 2009 .

[27]  A. Genter,et al.  Coastal cliff geohazards in weak rock: the UK Chalk cliffs of Sussex , 2004, Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications.

[28]  F. Gourmelon,et al.  Évolution morpho-sédimentaire du domaine littoral et marin de la Seine-Maritime (France) , 2004 .

[29]  J. Bonnamour.  Roland Paskoff, Les littoraux. Impact des aménagements sur leur évolution , 1998 .

[30]  T. Spencer,et al.  Temporal and spatial variations in recession rates and sediment release from soft rock cliffs, Suffolk coast, UK , 2010 .

[31]  Dirk Kuhn,et al.  Coastal cliff monitoring and analysis of mass wasting processes with the application of terrestrial laser scanning: A case study of Rügen, Germany , 2014 .

[32]  C. Delacourt,et al.  Landslide detection and monitoring capability of boat-based mobile laser scanning along Dieppe coastal cliffs, Normandy , 2015, Landslides.

[33]  M. Coombes,et al.  The temporal and spatial scales of rocky coast geomorphology: a commentary , 2017 .

[34]  S. Taibi,et al.  Effect of groundwater and sea weathering cycles on the strength of chalk rock from unstable coastal cliffs of NW France , 2005 .

[35]  Jérémy Giuliano.  Érosion des falaises de la région Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur : évolution et origine de la morphologie côtière en Méditerranée : télédétection, géochronologie, géomorphologie , 2015 .

[36]  A. Genter,et al.  Multiscale fracture analysis along the French chalk coastline for investigating erosion by cliff collapse , 2004, Geological Society, London, Engineering Geology Special Publications.

[37]  Cherith Moses,et al.  Chalk coast dynamics: Implications for understanding rock coast evolution , 2011 .

[38]  S. Ashford,et al.  Application of Airborne LIDAR for Seacliff Volumetric Change and Beach-Sediment Budget Contributions , 2006 .

[39]  Carlos Castillo,et al.  Image-based surface reconstruction in geomorphometry - merits, limits and developments , 2016 .

[40]  A. Trenhaile.  Modeling the development of wave-cut shore platforms , 2000 .

[41]  D. Brunsden,et al.  Behaviour of Coastal Landslide Systems: an - Inter-disciplinary View , 2004 .

[42]  Jérôme Le Cossec.  La déformation gravitaire des côtes à falaises sédimentaires : Modélisations numériques et expérimentales du secteur côtier Le Havre - Antifer (Haute-Normandie) , 2010 .

[43]  Sylviano Freiré-Diaz,et al.  Le littoral haut-normand et picard : une gestion concertée//The Haute-Normandie and Picardie Coast : a consulting management , 2001 .

[44]  S. Costa,et al.  Le recul des falaises crayeuses du Pays de Caux : détermination des processus d'érosion et quantification des rythmes d'évolution , 2002 .

[45]  É. Lasseur.  La Craie du Bassin de Paris (Cénomanien-Campanien, Crétacé supérieur). Sédimentologie de faciès, stratigraphie séquentielle et géométrie 3D. , 2007 .

[46]  M. Lim.  Chapter 3 The rock coast of the British Isles: cliffs , 2014 .

[47]  A. Murray.  Coastal Geomorphology: An Introduction , 2001 .

[48]  David M. Kennedy,et al.  Rock coast geomorphology : a global synthesis , 2014 .

[49]  A. Young,et al.  Global distribution of coastal cliffs , 2019, Earth Surface Processes and Landforms.

[50]  S. Costa,et al.  Dynamique des falaises des Vaches Noires : analyse diachronique historique et récente à l’aide de documents multi-sources (Normandie, France) , 2019, Géomorphologie : relief, processus, environnement.

[51]  Emmanuel Augereau,et al.  Retreat rates, modalities and agents responsible for erosion along the coastal chalk cliffs of Upper Normandy: The contribution of terrestrial laser scanning , 2015 .

[52]  A. Puissant,et al.  Analyse spatiotemporelle de glissements de terrain littoraux par l’exploitation de données géospatiales multisources , 2013 .

[53]  D. Petley,et al.  Combined Digital Photogrammetry and Time‐of‐Flight Laser Scanning for Monitoring Cliff Evolution , 2005 .

[54]  S. Oliveira,et al.  Rainfall thresholds for landslide activity in Portugal: a state of the art , 2015, Environmental Earth Sciences.

[55]  C. Woodroffe.  Coasts: Form, Process and Evolution , 2002 .

[56]  D. Petley,et al.  Terrestrial laser scanning for monitoring the process of hard rock coastal cliff erosion , 2005, Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology.

[57]  A. Trenhaile.  Rocky coasts ― their role as depositional environments , 2016 .

[58]  Jürgen Schmidt,et al.  Small-Scale Surface Reconstruction and Volume Calculation of Soil Erosion in Complex Moroccan Gully Morphology Using Structure from Motion , 2014, Remote. Sens..

[59]  L. Moore,et al.  Long-term cliff retreat and erosion hotspots along the central shores of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary , 2002 .

[60]  G. Breton,et al.  Mid-cretaceous sequence stratigraphy and sedimentary cyclicity in the western Paris Basin , 1992 .

[61]  S. Costa.  "Dynamique littorale et risques naturels" : L'impact des aménagements, des variations du niveau marin et des modifications climatiques entre la baie de Seine et la baie de Somme (Haute-Normandie, Picardie ; France) , 1997 .

[62]  O. Dugué,et al.  LE JURASSIQUE DES COTES DU CALVADOS : BIOSTRATIGRAPHIE, SEDIMENTOLOGIE, PALEOECOLOGIE, PALEOGEOGRAPHIE ET STRATIGRAPHIE SEQUENTIELLE , 1998 .

[63]  A. Young,et al.  Decadal-scale coastal cliff retreat in southern and central California , 2018 .

[64]  M. Neves,et al.  Chapter 6 The rock coast of continental Europe in the Atlantic , 2014 .

[65]  B. Laignel.  Les altérites à silex de l'ouest du Bassin de Paris : caractérisation lithologique, genèse et utilisation potentielle comme granulats , 1997 .

[66]  S. Costa,et al.  The retreat of the chalk cliffs of the Pays de Caux (France): erosion processes and patterns , 2006 .

[67]  S. Costa,et al.  Origine de la variabilité spatiale du recul des falaises crayeuses du nord-ouest du Bassin de Paris. L'exemple du littoral haut-normand (France). , 2003 .

[68]  砂村 継夫.  Geomorphology of rocky coasts , 1992 .

[69]  Sylvain Elineau.  Le risque naturel côtier sur la communauté d'agglomération du Havre (Haute-Normandie) : une évaluation des aléas , 2013 .

[70]  O. Dugué.  Géodynamique d'une bordure de massifs anciens : la bordure occidentale du bassin anglo-parisien au Callovo-Oxfordien : pulsations épirogéniques et cycles eustatisques , 1989 .

[71]  Guillaume Pierre,et al.  The role of groundwater in cliff instability: an example at Cape Blanc‐Nez (Pas‐de‐Calais, France) , 2006 .

[72]  José Luís Zêzere,et al.  Landslide susceptibility assessment considering landslide typology. A case study in the area north of Lisbon (Portugal) , 2002 .

[73]  Marion Jaud,et al.  UAV survey of a coastal cliff face – Selection of the best imaging angle , 2019, Measurement.

[74]  R. B. G. Williams,et al.  Temporal and spatial variations of chalk cliff retreat in East Sussex, 1873 to 2001 , 2008 .

[75]  C. Zangerl,et al.  Age distribution of fossil landslides in the Tyrol (Austria) and its surrounding areas , 2008 .

[76]  Role of hydrological process in landslide occurrence: Villerville-Cricqueboeuf landslides (Normandy coast, France) , 2009 .

[77]  Fausto Guzzetti,et al.  Rainfall thresholds for possible landslide occurrence in Italy , 2017 .

[78]  Rory N. Mortimore,et al.  Coastal Chalk Cliff Instability , 2006 .

[79]  R. Ziemer.  TEMPORAL AND SPATIAL SCALES , 1999 .