As well as a blue haven of stunning natural beauty and plentiful resources for millions of residents across the globe, many coastal regions are vulnerable to storms, flooding and changing landscapes.

In the UK and USA alone, about 40 percent of the population lives in the coastal zone, many of which rely on robust coastal defence mechanisms to protect against natures assault. For these regions, predicting how the coastal landscape will evolve into the future is vital to allowing societies to adapt and coastal managers to reinforce the first line of defence: the beach. Now, scientists at the UK's University of Plymouth has found a way to accurately predict the erosion levels of beaches during extreme storms on exposed energetic coastlines and the rate at which they recover in the future. Dr. Mark Davidson, Reader in Coastal Processes at the University of Plymouth, explains why this research is 'The Holy Grail' of coastal science and engineering, and how this new computer model can protect society as we enter an era of potentially volatile coastal transformations.

To read the full article from ECO's January/February issue, click here.