About the project
The research will identify key process interactions that cause asymmetry in wave overtopping hazard during a tidal cycle. Using WireWall wave overtopping observations, numerical tools will be validated prior to exploring climate and sea level scenarios aimed at investigating future coastal dynamics that could influence hazard response protocols and management.
A 1m rise in mean sea level is almost certain before the end of the century and it is estimated that 20% of England’s coastal defences could fail under just half this rise (Committee on Climate Change, 2018). Ambitious climate adaptation plans may protect 400,000 – 500,000 people, but flood and coastal erosion risks cannot be fully eliminated – we cannot build infinitely high sea walls. Therefore, better ways to forecast and respond to coastal hazards are essential. It is critical to identify what wave-tide process combinations drive different types of wave overtopping and understand how they interact with varying beach-structure profiles. Tidal levels and currents modify wave refraction, shoaling and breaking dynamics causing asymmetries in overtopping. However, better understanding of which processes and when processes dominate interactions for different wave, tide, and beach conditions is required. Future sea levels and beach lowering are likely to change the combinations of processes that pose the greatest hazard. Identification of the tipping points in overtopping hazard drives is crucial for strategic management and response planning.
Wave overtopping frequency, duration and intensity observations collected at Dawlish and Penzance will be analysed to identify event-scale interactions. Advanced numerical tools (Bayonet GPE) that accompany industry guidance for predicting overtopping hazard (EurOtop) will be used to isolate process contributions and expand the parameter space to include additional coastal structures and conditions. The impacts of changing sea level and beach level will be simulated, and the results shared with coastal hazard managers (e.g., the Environment Agency and Network Rail).
Supervisory team
The supervisory team includes supervisors from several organisations, including our INSPIRE Partners. Please contact the Lead Supervisor for more information about the team.
Training
The INSPIRE DTP programme provides comprehensive personal and professional development training alongside extensive opportunities for students to expand their multi-disciplinary outlook through interactions with a wide network of academic, research and industrial/policy partners. The student will be registered at the University of Southampton and hosted at the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton. Specific training will include:
- Programming in Matlab or Python
- Analysis of coastal monitoring data collected by the National Network or Regional Coastal Monitoring Programmes
- Analysis of the novel WireWall wave overtopping measurements
- Participation in HR Wallingford’s wave action on coastal structures course will teach the candidate about the empirical relations used to predict overtopping
- Learning to use numerical tools to predict wave overtopping hazard in response to different wave, water level and beach-structure profile conditions
- Work experience in HR Wallingford’s laboratory, including Health and Safety training to carry out research in a commercial flume facility