88 centimetres of coastal erosion per year: The case of Kildare (Alberton), Prince Edward Island,Canada

Conclusion This short article has made it possible to determine the current conditions of erosion in one sector of the coast of Prince Edward Island, as well as to calculate, with as great a degree of accuracy as possible, the speed at which the ocean is destroying the shoreline of this sector. The intensity of shoreline erosion has varied over the years (Dubois and Longhurst 1984). The variation may perhaps be explained in part by the fact that water temperature varies in the same proportion as the temperature of the surrounding air (Trites 1984), and that over a period of several decades, the air temperature, and the climate in general, do vary (Trites 1984). Thus a study of the correlation between coastline erosion and climatological variations over several decades would certainly be a useful aid for predicting the future state of the coastline. There is also a need for a map of the various sectors of the PEI coast, showing their degree of susceptibility to various systems of erosion. Such a map would be extremely useful both for land management purposes (construction, roads, agriculture) and for security reasons (civil protection, ocean recreation.