NOC develops wave overtopping system to improve coastal hazard forecasts

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The UK’s National Oceanography Centre (NOC) has developed a new coastal wave overtopping system called WireWall which can measure the speed and volume of overtopping water on a wave-by-wave basis.

Coastal overtopping can cause flooding and pose a hazard to people, property and infrastructure so the ability to measure overtopping in the field will help reduce uncertainty in forecasts and improve hazard warning systems.

Traditionally, field data is obtained using large collection tanks that only obtain data on the total volume of water that has overtopped during a storm or high tide event. In addition, tanks can only be deployed on certain structures, such as the top of a coastal defense barrier, whereas WireWall has been designed so that it can be deployed on almost any structure.

WireWall overtopping measurements could be used to improve industry-standard overtopping prediction tools and hence improve flood and hazard forecasts. Field measurements of overtopping will also enable the study of wind and wave conditions that cause overtopping, thereby improving numerical models.

The WireWall project was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) program ‘Innovative Monitoring Approaches’. A follow-on project called ‘Coastal REsistance: Alerts and Monitoring Technologies’ (CreamT) is now underway, funded by NERC’s Digital Environment program.

For more on coastal hazard forecasts, please click here.

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, editor-in-chief

Dan first joined UKi Media & Events in 2014 having spent the early years of his career in the recruitment industry. As editor, he now produces content for Meteorological Technology International, unearthing the latest technological advances and research methods for the publication of each exciting new issue. When he’s not reporting on the latest meteorological news, Dan can be found on the golf course or apprehensively planning his next DIY project.

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