The barrier coastline of North Norfolk, with particular reference to Scolt Head Island

Situated on the barrier coastline of north Norfolk, eastern England, Scolt Head Island is remarkable for the long period—almost one hundred years—of sustained geo- morphological research, allowing a proper, and rare, assessment of the relative importance of the role of ‘normal’ processes versus extreme events (storm surge impacts) in determining landform evolution. Drawing on an extensive literature, the chapter reports on studies of the Holocene history of the barrier island and the historical dynamics of barrier westward extension and landward retreat (and associated sand dune initiation, growth and decline). It considers contemporary tidal channel hydrodynamics and patterns of back-barrier saltmarsh sedimentation and accretion. It concludes by considering how the process environment may change, and Scolt may develop, in the near future and the implications for landward ecosystems and communities