Beaches of Scotland, a story on Climate Change

Beaches of Scotland – Discover a visual history of Climate Change through the work of Prof. William Ritchie

Historical photographs of Scotland’s coastline represent a priceless archive of information of how Scotland’s coastline has changed over time. During the 1960s and 1970s, Professor Bill Ritchie (University of Aberdeen) was commissioned by the then Nature Conservancy Council to undertake a study called the ‘Beaches of Scotland’. The results of this study were published as a series of 20+ separate reports and are now regarded as classics.

They provide important information on how various parts of Scotland’s coastline have changed over the last half-century. This provides us with a key perspective on how Scotland’s coastline is responding to the effects of recent climate change. As a result of a MASTS initiative, the ca. 1500 photographic slides taken over 50 years ago by Professor Ritchie for these reports are being digitised and published online. This webinar is an introduction to this ‘Beaches of Scotland’ historical photographs initiative coastal archive. The webinar is now available to watch on online.