National Tidal and Sea Level Facility (NTSLF)

Many places along the UK coastline will experience the highest tide for 18.6 years between the 19th and 30th of September, as a result of the co-incidence of a series of astronomical factors. Watch a video of Professor Kevin Horsburgh explaining this using a football and a tennis ball.

‘Supermoon’ is a term widely used to refer to when either a full or new moon coincides with the closest approach the Moon has to Earth in its elliptical orbit.

A storm surge on 3 Jan 2014 in the Irish Sea (similar to the recent one on 5 December 2013) raised the sea surface above the astronomical tide level by 0.75 metres to 1 metre over a large area.

The contract to inspect and maintain the United Kingdom’s network of tidal gauges – the country’s early warning system for coastal flooding – has been won by the National Oceanography Centre.

The contract, worth £1,080,000 over four years, was awarded by the UK’s Environment Agency.