Publication Abstract

High-resolution Measurement of a North Sea Storm Surge

J. A. Parker and D. Foden*

Storm surges are natural phenomena impacting on the east coast of England, sometimes with devastating consequences. This research looked at the storm surge that threatened the east coast of England on 8th and 9th November 2007. Nortek acoustic wave and current (AWAC) recorders measured tidal heights at 19 sites between the River Humber and the River Thames. Observed and predicted tidal heights were compared, and residual tidal heights were calculated for each site. Results display residual tidal heights increasing through the southward propagation of the surge along the east coast of England, also found in previous studies. This research also identifies an increase in surge height into the Wash embayment. Residual tidal elevations ranged from +1.8 m off Donna Nook, in the mouth of the River Humber, to +2.4 m off South Maplin Sands in the Thames Estuary. Within the southern North Sea and Thames Estuary, results showed that the crest of the storm surge travelled from Donna Nook to South Maplin in ~9 hours. During this event, the positive surge occurred on the rising tide and avoided times of tidal high water.

Reference

PARKER, J. A. and FODEN, D.,(2009) High-resolution Measurement of a North Sea Storm Surge. Journal of
Coastal Research, SI 56 (Proceedings of the 10th International Coastal Symposium), 1656 – 1660. Lisbon,
Portugal, ISSN 0749-0258