Surge prediction
UK-based engineering and environmental hydraulics organisation, HR Wallingford, has developed a state-of-the-art tool to predict storm surges in UK waters.
SMARTtide was originally commissioned and funded by the Energy Technologies Institute (EIT) to identify the most efficient sites for tidal energy converters, tidal arrays or tidal barrage schemes around the UK and French coastlines.
While the model continues to be used for this purpose is can now also be used for storm surge simulation.
“The challenge is to be able to provide accurate simulations of such events, either for forecasting, development planning, or to inform risk assessments,” said Graham Siggers, hydrodynamics and metocean group manager, HR Wallingford.
“This new development of SMARTtide allows us to take meteorological predictions and look at the effects of storm surges in very fine detail (200m resolution) along the coastline or into estuaries. This means the model can simulate storm surges at a very localised level informing risk assessments for coastal planning or insurance,” he added.
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