Failure mechanisms of sea cliffs due to basal erosion

Coastal communities face increasing exposure to climate change hazards, such as extreme weather events, sea level rise and tidal effects, which make rocky coasts susceptible to erosion and instability phenomena like rockfalls and cliff collapses. Addressing these challenges requires a deeper understanding of the failure mechanisms of sea cliffs for effective coastal management plans. The aim of this paper is to numerically investigate, through parametric 2D FEM analyses, the effects of a basal erosion on the stability of soft rock cliffs of different heights. As expected, the results reveal that increasing notch depth reduces stability. The effect of a joint, with variable depths and locations, is also investigated. It is demonstrated that its presence minimally affects stability when the joint-to-cliff-face distance is less than the notch depth. However, if the joint is located close to the notch end, its presence introduces a perturbation that negatively affects cliff stability.