Coastal sediment budget project: Offshore sediment transport pathways in Poole and Christchurch Bays

Minor funds contribution (2013-2016) \ University of Southampton: £4,000

The University of Southampton was awarded £4,000 as a contribution towards a project to quantify and analyse the relative contributions and movement of sediment within Poole and Christchurch Bays.

The aim of the study was to investigate the sediment transport pathways around Dolphin Bank and Dolphin Sand in order to better understand where the sediment originates from and whether there is a feedback mechanism back onto the beaches in Poole Bay.

Key questions addressed are:

  • Are Dolphin Bank and Dolphin Sand fed by the same sediment source?
  • What are the sediment transport pathways over and around the banks?
  • Are these banks largely relict, or are they sinks or sources of sediment to the coast?

Answering these questions also assists in understanding whether some of the material from the Bournemouth replenishment programmes ends up on the Dolphin Bank and Dolphin Sand.

Download the report (PDF, 2Mb)

This study, along with analysis of Regional Coastal Monitoring data helped inform the 2012 update of the Sediment Transport Study.