Innovative wave hazard measurements being made at a coast near you

The NOC’s Dr Jenny Brown will be delivering a talk titled “Innovative wave hazard measurements being made at a coast near you” at the University of Liverpool on Wednesday 27 November at 6pm.

Booking details are available on the University of Liverpool website.

Coastal flood forecasting services and coastal scheme designers require observations to calibrate public safety thresholds within the tools they use. With the widespread use of social media, a growing photographic record is now available to identify storms that have caused an impact. Citizen-derived data ‐ when used in conjunction with national coastal monitoring programmes ‐ provides a valuable source of information to understand the conditions that pose a hazard to people at the coast. Once past events have been identified they can be re-simulated to estimate the wave hazard to calibrate flood forecasting systems and inform coastal management activities.

At Crosby, a team of scientists and engineers have taken this one step further and used this information as part of the award winning WireWall project – an innovative wave hazard measurement system, that contributes to optimising sea defence design and early warning processes, saving money and protecting coastal communities. During the winter 2018/19 the WireWall team measured the fast wave jets and spray that came over the sea defense during windy spring tide conditions. The team will now work with local coastal authorities so the new data informs coastal management activities.

For more information about WireWall, see WireWall – The Movie on YouTube.