Rock coast geomorphology: Recent advances and future research directions

There have been considerable advances in rock coast research in the past decade, as measured in terms of the number of active researchers and in the number of research papers being produced. This review, although not exhaustive, highlights many of the improvements that have been made in our ability to identify and measure the processes shaping rock coasts, at a range of spatial and temporal scales. We review how researchers are experimenting with new techniques: grappling with quantifying the effects of multiple processes on resultant landforms; and exploring how well rock coast systems relate to wider geomorphological and earth science debates. Recent research, including those in this special issue, aptly demonstrate the scientific benefits that can be accrued by studying rock coasts at a variety of spatial and temporal scales, by considering the effect of the wide range of processes that operate on them, and by the application of new measurement techniques and approaches. Despite these advances, there is ample scope for future research, which could profit from increasing collaboration with other coastal geomorphologists and allied earth science disciplines in order to identify and quantify linkages between rock coasts and other coastal systems. It is also important that new research considers how rock coasts will respond to extreme events and to risks associated with changing climate, and to how rock coast geomorphology might contribute, beyond coastal science, to wider debates in theoretical geomorphology. (C) 2009 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.