Coastal Response to Climatic Changes: Discussion with Emphasis on Southern Baltic Sea

Abstract

The influence of climate change on coastal areas is indisputable. Natural or anthropogenic elements of the coastal zone often reveal unforeseen changes, not comparable with earlier observations. However, human activity is influenced by climatic events that affect settlements and local economies. This paper presents the increasing threat of climate change to world coastal safety with an emphasis on field research from the coast of the southern Baltic Sea. The main climatic factors that influence the land and shallow seas of the coastal zone are: wind, waves, storm surges, ice jams and flooding. We are for- getting about the relationship between these factors and parts of the affected environment. A costly shore protection scheme in one area forces erosion in another. It is proposed not to analyse the environmental events on average; such scientific re- sults do not provide the basis for calculating real land erosion. In this paper, it is argued that nature does not respect average values; we need to prepare for greater change due to the escalation of those factors affecting the coast.