Introduction – the recent UK storms

The recent UK storms have brought exceptionally wild coastal weather, in particular to southern and western England, Wales and Northern Ireland.  This has had a profound impact on the geomorphology of the British coast.  The Met Office has a nice summary of these storms.  The combination of strong winds, high tides, large waves and saturated ground has greatly accelerated coastal processes, promoting failure of large rock masses.  The BBC has a nice article that highlights some of these changes – for example:

Porthcothan Bay in Cornwall::

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25639777

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Pom-Pom Rock in Portland, Dorset:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-25639777

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The Daily Mail has a nice set of photographs of the waves that caused this change.  I expect we will see far more change once this spell of weather finally comes to an end.