Brian Yellen Talks Erosion with 'The Guardian'

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Brian Yellen, Massachusetts state geologist and former research professor in the College of Natural Sciences's Department of Earth, Geographic, and Climate Sciences, was recently asked by British daily newspaper The Guardian to weigh in on the issue of erosion. 

The Guardian article in question centers on David Moot, an interior painter and designer who paid $395,000 for a Cape Cod home perched on the edge of the Massachusetts coastline, knowing its days may be numbered. He purchased the expansive three-bedroom property with sweeping views of the Atlantic Ocean. Moot is part of a growing trend of buyers snapping up waterfront homes at reduced prices, fully aware of the looming risks posed by rising sea levels and rapidly eroding shorelines driven by the climate crisis.

"Brian Yellen, a Massachusetts state geologist, also pointed to the coastal bluffs along the east coast where many homes lie. 'Coastlines in places that used to be glaciated, like the eastern US and Canada, as well as much of northern Europe have long reaches of coastal bluffs made up of glacial soils, as opposed to bedrock cliffs,' Yellen said, adding: 'While less susceptible to coastal flooding and inundation, as bluffs tend to be high up, these coastlines are particularly susceptible to shoreline retreat, imperiling structures built at the edge of bluffs.'"

— The Guardian

Read more in The Guardian and The Cool Down.