Prediction and risk evaluation of chalk cliff collapse: the PROTECT project

Abstract

A major cliff collapse took place at Store Stejlebjerg in the southern part of Møns Klint on 5 July 2003 (Fig. 1). This cliff collapse was one in a number of rock falls that has affected Møns Klint with a frequency of about one per five years. Geological investigations of the rock fall at Store Stejlebjerg were carried out by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) after the Danish Forest and Nature Agency had asked for advice and help concerning security regulations for public access to the site. GEUS was prepared for this type of investigation due to the Survey’s engagement in the European Union project PROTECT, which aims at prediction of chalk cliff collapses. In this project a number of sites in northern Europe have been selected for detailed investigation, among which two are situated at Møns Klint, southeast Denmark (Fig. 1). This report provides a short description of the 2003 cliff collapse at Møns Klint and a brief description of the PROTECT project and its practical implications for cliff collapse evaluation.