Coastal Erosion and The Minas Bay: An Analysis

Extreme tidal forces and accelerated coastal erosion threaten the Joggins Fossil Cliffs, a UNESCO World Heritage Site renowned for its 300-million-year-old fossil record. Research using ArcGIS Pro and photogrammetry reveals that erosion rates are increasing, likely due to climate-driven changes in environmental variables such as water turbulence and silt load. This poses a significant risk to the preservation of rare organisms—including tetrapods, amphibians, and reptiles—that were first documented by 19th-century geologists Charles Lyell and William Dawson. The study aims to determine whether escalating erosion, driven by extreme climate events, will further degrade this irreplaceable biological archive, with implications for its long-term conservation.

Flemington, H. (2023). Coastal Erosion and The Minas Bay: An Analysis. Inquiry@Queen’s Undergraduate Research Conference Proceedings, 17. https://doi.org/10.24908/iqurcp16321