Extreme sea-level events are an ever-growing threat to coastal communities across our planet due to rising seas. NOC scientists are at the cutting edge of research into why our sea-levels are rising, the likelihood of resulting extreme events and cutting-edge solutions to protect our coastlines.
A Nature-published study led by scientists at the National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has quantified for the first time that contributions from human activity may have already altered the likelihood of storm surge extremes.
The 1st International Workshop on Waves, Storm Surges and Coastal Hazards hosted by the NOC and organised together with Environment Canada and the University of North Florida has been a highly successful event.
Talking to the BBC about the recent hurricanes, NOC’s Professor Judith Wolf, said “This year’s hurricane season is worse than usual, at least the worst since 2005 when hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans. We cannot attribute this directly to climate change – there are large changes in the number and severity of storms from year to year.
The first comprehensive study of the impact of global sea-level rise on tides has implications for future coastal flood risk, harbour management, and the long term planning of tidal energy sites.
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.
