Russian Coastal Erosion

In Russia, 25,000 km of the total 61,000 km length of the marine coast suffers from extreme erosion. Rising sea levels meeting areas of thermokarst causes the Russian Arctic (permafrost) coastline to be especially vulnerable to erosion. Furthermore, areas of unconsolidated sediments facing thermal abrasions of their melting permafrost results in rapid coastal recession. Therefore, it is no surprise that in the Laptev Sea area, the coastline is receding by 2.5m annually. 

The Caucasian Black Sea is comprised of a high percentage of easily erodable rocks and faces a coastal recession of 0.7m per year. The Tuzla Split is a big body of quartz sand, shell, and pebble, and is degrading despite the protection from a nearby dam. The areas where shore-protecting constructions were erected are in bad condition and not protecting the shores from erosion. Furthermore, a longshore transport stream of deposits has been interrupted by a system of breakwaters and groins, which intercept the vast majority of all gravel and pebble material migration along the coast; so beach restoration by natural ways is impossible. 

Battling with coastal erosion for the last one-and-a-half centuries has proven that there is no universal answer to solving the coastal struggle with the sea and only proven that the wrong methods of protection worsen the problems. 


Sources: https://www.climatechangepost.com/russia/coastal-erosion/

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/332632921_Erosion_of_the_Caucasian_Black_Sea_coast

Photo Sources: https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/?275471/Alarming%2Derosion%2Din%2DRussian%2DArctic


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