Coastal erosion in Ängelholm : a case study tracking recent and historical changes to Vejbystrand

Abstract: As global warming continues to change the global climate, extreme weather events become more common. The effects of such events vary regionally due to both natural and anthropo- genic influences. This study identifies the main mechanisms causing coastal erosion in Äng- elholm and evaluates the adaptation measures implemented by the municipality. A case study of Vejbystrand, a sandy beach in the municipality, is conducted in order to address the issue of coastal erosion due to recurring storms. This study presents methodology for evaluating changes to the coastal topography on different time scales and performs a change detection analysis over Vejbystrand to test the hypothesis that variations in the coastal topography of Vejbystrand have increased during the last decade, and that this increase is related to more frequent storm events. It was found that erosion in the municipality is influenced by both natural and anthro- pogenic factors, and that less invasive erosion adaptation measures have fewer consequences. A suitable method for delineating coastal properties using Digital Shoreline Analysis System (DSAS) and digital elevation model (DEM) data is presented and applied to Vejbystrand. By comparing data collected from a recent period of frequent storm events (2010-2017) to a calmer period (1960-1973), the hypothesis that recent changes to Vejbystrand are due to frequent storms can be accepted.