Comparative Analysis of Climate Change Impacts on Earthwork Stability in Coastal vs. Inland Regions of the UK: A Case Study Approach

Background Study

“Rising temperatures, coupled with increased frequency and intensity of weather events—such as heavy rain and storm winds—and rising sea levels caused by climate change, are challenging the stability and integrity of the world’s earthworks,” said Chu (2021). Indeed, the urgency in acknowledgement and mitigation of such effects hastens more in the United Kingdom, kept pinned under the geographical quilt of laced coastal and inland regions (Tendero and Moreno, 2023). So, these are integral and necessary elements of UK infrastructure in restraining floodwaters, forming embankments for road and rail, and protecting the coastline. Weak rock slopes, in general, are susceptible to intrinsic changes in the environmental setting. Thus, their stability is willfully affected by the changes in moisture content and pore pressure due to climatic forcing (Scaringi and Loche, 2022). This research exists at the interface of climate science, geotechnical engineering, and infrastructure resilience. It hones down to see more clearly how these changing climatic patterns uniquely affect earthwork stability in coastal versus inland settings. It is centred on two emblematic regions: East Anglia and Yorkshire.

East Anglia is one of the coastal areas, meaning it faces all the increased risks associated with rising tides and storm surges, which only heighten an already-expressed threat derived from climate change (Wolf et al., 2020). Besides having all the above-listed factors threatening both an aspect of embankment integrity and a flood defence structure, it causes enormous consequences on issues of community safety, economic stability, and environmental conservation. Meanwhile, Yorkshire, as an inland province, has other challenges. Saif et al. (2022) maintain, “Increased precipitation and extreme weather events can saturate the soil, change the levels of groundwater, and consequently change the pressure of subsoil water; thus, portending alterations that influence the stability of earthworks Hampo, Schinasi, and Hoque (2024) stated. The differential impacts observed in the two regions underline how complex it is to gauge the relative impacts of climate change on the stability of earthworks. Both of the regions were looked at as representing a broader spectrum of vulnerabilities across the UK’s landscapes.

This research proposal thus purports, prospectively, to help bridge an understanding of such dynamics, employing a comparative analysis that is ever-dominant by the nuanced way climate change influences earthwork stability from coastal to inland contexts. Thus, through close incorporation of case studies from East Anglia and Yorkshire, the specific mechanisms of climatic change that affect pore water pressure, among other critical geotechnical parameters, will be made evident within these distinct geographical settings. This approach will not only contribute scientific knowledge to the impacts of climate change but will seek to develop a foundation for the formulation of targeted, evidence-based strategies toward further enhancement of earthwork resilience. Given the need to face a future with the increasing frequency and severity of climate change effects in the coming decades, this research is thus very timely and importantly seeks to bear this in mind specifically in responding to what best serves policy, planning, and engineering practices in safeguarding infrastructure and communities from the evolving climate challenge.

Aim

The aim was to compare this situation with the situation on earthwork stability in coastal and inland areas of the UK, with an emphasis on East Anglia and Yorkshire, under the impact of climate change, to learn how different conditions regarding climate and geography affect infrastructure resilience, and to formulate targeted adaptation actions.

Objectives

1. Assess the Impact of Climate Change on Earthwork Stability: Evaluate how climate, specifically in changes in pore water pressure, temperature, and precipitation patterns, among others, affect earthwork stability in the coastal area of East Anglia and the inland area of Yorkshire. This will include data collection, analysis from climate centres, investigation of earthwork structures, and employment of geotechnical modelling software in the simulation process to evaluate the impacts based on the change in climate scenarios on the stability of earthworks.
2. Compare and Contrast Regional Vulnerabilities and Resilience: Analyses have been conducted to determine the differential impacts associated with climate change on the stability of earthworks in regions considered to be coastal and those that are considered to be inland, considering the problems and vulnerabilities apparent in these two regions. The study aimed to focus on how infrastructure is affected by climate change within the geographical position of the two and their need for adaptation and strategies to build resilience for buildings within the two regions.
3. Develop Targeted Adaptation Strategies: Develop targeted adaptation and mitigation measures that would enhance the resilience of the earthworks about the envisaged effects of climate change for both coastal and inland areas based on outcomes from the comparative analysis. It will entail the development of a specific policy and good practice framework, which will be introduced by way of engineering recommendations to the conditions and vulnerabilities of East Anglia and Yorkshire, ensuring that those infrastructure elements are still sustainable and safe.

Research Question

1. How does climate change affect the geotechnical stability of earthworks in coastal regions compared to inland regions of the UK, with specific reference to changes in pore-water pressure, temperature, and precipitation patterns?
2. What are the distinct challenges and vulnerabilities related to earthwork stability in the coastal region of East Anglia and the inland region of Yorkshire in the context of current and projected climate change scenarios?
3. Which targeted adaptation strategies and engineering solutions can be developed to enhance the resilience of earthworks in the face of climate change impacts in the UK, particularly in the studied coastal and inland regions?

References

Chu, P.Y., 2021. Life of Permafrost: A History of Frozen Earth in Russian and Soviet Science. University of Toronto Press.

Tendero, E.J. and Moreno, F., 2023. Analyzing the Effectiveness of Climate Governance Programs of City and Municipal Governments in the Philippines’ Zamboanga Peninsula Region. Available at SSRN 4548961.

Scaringi, G. and Loche, M., 2022. A thermo-hydro-mechanical approach to soil slope stability under climate change. Geomorphology, 401, p.108108.

Wolf, J., Woolf, D. and Bricheno, L., 2020. Impacts of climate change on storms and waves relevant to the coastal and marine environment around the UK. MCCIP Science Review, 2020, pp.132-157.

Saif, A., Cuccurullo, A., Gallipoli, D., Perlot, C. and Bruno, A.W., 2022. Advances in enzyme induced carbonate precipitation and application to soil improvement: A review—materials, 15(3), p.950.

Hampo, C.C., Schinasi, L.H. and Hoque, S., 2024. Surviving indoor heat stress in the United States: A comprehensive review exploring the impact of overheating on occupants’ thermal comfort, health, and social and economic factors. Heliyon.