Assessing riverine threats to heritage assets posed by future climate change through a geomorphological approach and predictive modelling in the Derwent Valley Mills WHS, UK

Abstract

Future climate change is likely to pose significant challenges for heritage management, especially in landscape settings such as river valleys as the magnitude, intensity and nature of geomorphological processes alter in response to changing threshold conditions. Industrial landscapes afford particular challenges for the heritage community, not only because the location of these historic remains is often intimately linked to the physical environment, but also because these landscapes can be heavily polluted by former (industrial) processes and, if released, the legacy of contaminants trapped in floodplain soils and sediments can exacerbate erosion and denudation. Responding to these challenges requires the development of methodologies that consider landscape change beyond individual sites and monuments and this paper reports the development of such an approach based on investigation of the Derwent Valley Mills World Heritage Site, Derbyshire, UK. Information on geomorphological evolution of the Derwent Valley over the last 1000 years, a time period encompassing the last two periods of major climatic deterioration, the Medieval Warm Period and Little Ice Age, has been dovetailed with archaeological and geochemical records to assess how the landscape has evolved to past landscape change. However, in addition to assessing past evolution, this methodology uses national climate change scenarios to predict future river change using the CAESAR-Lisflood model. Comparison of the results of this model to the spatial distribution of World Heritage Site assets highlights zones on the valley floor where pro-active mitigation might be required. The geomorphological and environmental science communities have long used predictive computer modelling to help understand and manage landscapes and this paper highlights an approach and area of research cross-over that would be beneficial for future heritage management.

Archaeological Applications of Low‐Cost Integrated Sidescan Sonar/Single‐Beam Echosounder Systems in Irish Inland Waterways

“…Moreover, this record is under threat from urbanization, dredging (for navigation and aggregates), water abstraction, canalization/river realignment, hydro‐power schemes and flood management (McNeary, ; Firth, ). Some of these activities, such as flood management, may well increase in the near future given the impact of climate change (Howard et al ., ; Howard et al ., ). Therefore, there is a clear need to quantify and document the submerged resource and, in so doing, facilitate more proactive research and management.…”

Understanding geohazards in the UNESCO WHL site of the Derwent Valley Mills (UK) using geological and remote sensing data

“…Over the last two centuries most of the industrial landscape and complexes have been well-preserved and the upper reaches of the valley are still intact, however, present and future environmental and geological processes could expose these heritage assets to a series of threats (see section 2.3), including surface water and fluvial flooding, contaminated sediment transport and remobilisation of deposits/minerals historic mining activities [8]. …”

“…A recent English Heritage funded project focussed upon 'better disaster planning and building in resilience for heritage' analysed the evidence of past climate change in the Derwent Valley [20], [8]. Research included assessment of historical, geomorphological and environmental datasets to assess landscape evolution within the catchment and UNESCO WHS boundaries.…”

Ecological risk assessment of geohazards in Natural World Heritage Sites: an empirical analysis of Bogda, Tianshan

“…Although the research provided results that give practical guidance for risk management about heritage sites, some problems remain in the actual research that require further perfection and study. For example, (1) assessing disaster risks will become increasingly complex as World Heritage properties experience both the gradual and sometimes catastrophic effects of climate change [10,53,54]. Some alterations to natural heritage features cannot be avoided in a changing environment.…”