Areas of strategic importance or "high value" dotted along our coastline must be protected from the potentially devastating effects of global warming, according to leading Irish experts on climate change.
Engineers must focus their attention on protecting populated areas with heavy infrastructure, such as Dublin and Cork, which often do not have modern defences against the sea, and low-lying industrial areas in other parts of Ireland, says Dr John Sweeney of NUI Maynooth Department of Geography. These areas are most vulnerable from the effects of global warming.
Low-lying parts of the Shannon estuary, for example, are heavily industrialised. These areas, he suggests, should be the focus of action, rather than agricultural land or tourist amenities such as golf links - which up to now have been the focus of anti-coastal erosion strategies.
Despite these warnings, however, he predicts that other areas such as the UK coast would suffer more. The picture is "not too cataclysmic" when compared to elsewhere, Dr Sweeney noted.
Scientists estimate the average global temperature will increase by at least .3 degrees per decade for the next century. And Ireland's temperature will rise in line with this global level.
Rising temperatures will cause the gradual melting of the icecaps over lands such as Greenland and Antarctica, leading to a global increase in sea levels. And the increased temperatures will make water expand. One prediction says sea levels will rise by about 12 cm by 2050. This might seem an insignificant change but it has the potential to significantly impact on our coastlines.
Another estimate says the increase may be 67 cm by 2050, says Dr Gerald Mills of UCD Department of Geography.
The effect of global warming on coastlines, however, is "not as straightforward" as it may seem, says Dr Sweeney who is also chairman of the Royal Irish Academy's committee on climate change. Because of the Atlantic Ocean, which will absorb much of the initial increase in temperature, there will be a delay before Ireland feels the full effects of global warming.
Vulnerable coastal lands are areas of soft sediment. Waves will be more powerful with a rising sea level, as they will have further to fall. This leads to a greater impact. Glacial sediments in the east of the country are also vulnerable, including the Wexford coast, which is already retreating. Areas such as the Cliffs of Moher and the cliffs in Donegal, on the other hand, are not in as much danger.
A scientific paper written by Dr Robert Devoy of UCC Department of Geography suggested there are relatively few areas in Ireland under threat.
However, he comments: "The many linked aspects of the coastal dwellers' environments, such as the supply of water from coastal aquifers, the sedimentary systems of beaches and dunes, biological resources, land drainage, recreation spaces, communications, insurance premiums, the location of waste disposal sites and related environmental health concerns, will all be influenced by any such future sea-level rises."
Climate scientists say the effects of increased sea-levels caused by accelerated global warming must be viewed in conjunction with stronger waves and possibly more powerful storms.
Waves will have more force as sea levels rise. Global warming may also lead to more powerful storms, but this is a somewhat controversial theory - with contradictory scientific evidence, Dr Sweeney says. The increased sea levels, stronger waves and more powerful storms may lead to more "storm surge activity" where major events may cause large scale changes to the coastlines.
He confirms Sandymount in Dublin is one area particularly vulnerable to flooding caused by sea level change. And the area's defences from the sea date from the 19th century, which will be under increased pressure from the potentially powerful storms from the sea.
Dr Mills says global warming will also lead to greater rainfall in Ireland. The impact of this on the Shannon estuary, which already frequently experiences heavy flooding will be "quite dramatic".
But there is a counterbalancing influence. Ireland is also rising. About 10,000 years ago the island was covered with an ice sheet, pushing the land down. The ice subsequently melted. Now a rebound effect is occurring, causing the landscape to rise.
Furthermore, Ireland has mountains around much of its rim, providing protection for the coastline against rising sea levels. The UK, by contrast, is more vulnerable. More of their land - East Anglia for example - is close to sea level, he says.
A strategy now for Ireland should be to "try to identify vulnerable areas and decide what to do", says Dr Sweeney - especially to protect them from possible extreme events which have been triggered by accelerated global warming.