Rapid coastal changes in the late Quaternary

The European Commission, DG XII, will organise a conference on rapid coastal changes in the late Quaternary to be held in Corinth, Greece, from 10 to 19 September 1998. The event will be funded under the joint actions of the EU's Marine Science and Technology (MAST) and Environment and Climate research programmes.

Rapid coastal change can cause flooding of coastal areas by processes ranging from short-term events such as storms, to longer-term events, such as general sea level rise. The conference will examine processes, causes, modelling and impacts of rapid coastal changes during the late Quaternary period, that is within the time-scale of greatest interest for human activity.

Specific attention will be paid to the Mediterranean with the aim of producing pragmatic recommendations to predict and mitigate rapid coastal changes. This will take into account in particular the impacts, both direct and indirect, on harbours and other coastal works and coastal land, as well as legal implications on the environment and the social and economic life.
For further information, please contact:

European Commission
DG XII - Science, research and development
Marine Science and Technology programme
Mr. Gilles Ollier
200 rue de la Loi
B-1049 Brussels
Tel. +32-2-2956630; Fax +32-2-2963024
E-mail: research@ec.europa.eu