Kenneth Pye Associates Ltd.
 Scientific Research, Consultancy and Investigations

              
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Geomorphological evolution and future management options for the Titchwell area, North Norfolk
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The Titchwell Reserve is one of the RSPB's most popular reserves which is visited by many thousands of visitors each year. The coastal frontage of the reserve has experienced long-term net erosion and there is concern that this will continue and possibly accelerate during the next century due to the effects of climate change and sea level rise. While it is recognized by the RSPB that it may not be possible to maintain the freshwater habitats at Titchwell indefinitely, it is hoped to maintain as much of the habitat for as long as possible, subject to an agreed strategy which will not compromise habitats in adjoining areas. Consequently the RSPB is developing a Titchwell Sea Level Rise Plan which is intended to provide a sustainable framework for future management of the reserve. As part of this process, a study was conducted investigating the coastal processes and morphological changes which are operating in the area. This included analysis of historical maps and charts, bathymetric, topographic and lidar surveys, and collation of wind, wave and tide data.

The study showed that the Titchwell frontage has experienced shoreline erosion for more than 120 years. Coastal change was particularly rapid in the 20 year period following initial breach of the original Titchwell sea bank in 1949. The rate of change and shoreline recession decreased after 1972, and the high water mark has changed very little since 1991, although there has been a continued loss of sediment volume in the inertidal and nearshore zone. Erosion at Titchwell arises primarily because the area lies at a littoral drift divide and more sediment is transport to the east and west by waves and littoral currents than is transported onshore. Although sea level rise has played little part so far in driving the dynamics of the Titchwell shoreline, this may change in the next 100 years if the rate of sea level rise continues to accelerate.

Aerial photographs of the Titchwell area of Brancaster Bay, north Norfolk, taken in 1946, 1972 and 2003.
The frontal dunes were breached during storm surges in 1949 and 1953, creating a significant tidal channel and
allowing the reclaimed agricultural land to revert to active saltmarsh.

Shaded relief map of the Titchwell RSPB reserve, generated from lidar data flown in 2002 by the Environment
Agency.

Publications and Reports

Pye, K., Blott, S.J. and Saye, S.E. (2004). Coastal Processes and Morphological Evolution of the Titchwell Reserve and Surrounding Area, North Norfolk. Kenneth Pye Associates Ltd., External Research Report ER507, 100 pp.

Kenneth Pye Associates Ltd. - Environmental Consultants
Page last modified: October 03, 2007