Experts have warned that extensive storm damage caused to one of South Devon's most iconic routes is likely to become more frequent as global sea levels rise and the impacts of extreme wave events increases.
Members of the University of Plymouth's Coastal Processes Research Group have been conducting detailed measurements and visual assessments along Start Bay for the past 20 years.
Every month, scientists and students carry out beach surveys along the entire length of Slapton Sands and then pair that with details of wave strength and direction to show how sand and gravel is being transported up and down the coast.
It means Start Bay is one of the best studied coastlines in the UK, with a data set of more than 200 surveys having provided a comprehensive picture of what happens when the ocean and land collide.
Such detailed and complex information enables the University's researchers to evaluate the likelihood of future coastal erosion and flooding, and how this might impact communities such as Torcross and Beesands, as well as the infrastructure that line Start Bay.
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