As much as half of some British beaches\u2019 coarse sediments consist of human-made materials such as brick, concrete, glass and industrial waste, a study has found.<\/p>\n
Climate breakdown, which has caused more frequent and destructive coastal storms, has led to an increase in these substances on beaches. Six sites on the Firth of Forth, an estuary on Scotland\u2019s east coast joining the River Forth to the North Sea, were surveyed to better understand the makeup of \u201curban beaches\u201d.<\/p>\n
The researchers used a systematic search method to collect and analyse sediment from beaches at Torryburn, Ravenscraig, the Fife coastal path, Carriden, Granton and Prestonpans.<\/p>\n
On Granton beach near Edinburgh, researchers from the University of Glasgow<\/a> found evidence that up to half of the beach\u2019s coarse sediments were from human-made materials. These sediments mostly derive from matter swept from land into the Forth by the erosion of coastal industrial sites and the dumping of waste.<\/p>\n This phenomenon is not unique to Scotland. On Crosby beach in Merseyside<\/a>, waste from collieries and the blitz in the second world war now forms a large part of what is called sand. The Thames estuary\u2019s sediments are also thought to be made up of a significant amount of human-made materials. On a sandy bank opposite Canary Wharf, littered bricks that have rounded over time are referred to as \u201cThames potatoes\u201d.<\/p>\n