ABSTRACT
Accurate predictions of storms are required to design sea defences to protect against flooding and erosion. These predictions are also used by governments to support cost-effective schemes and by operational agencies for emergency flood planning. Novel approaches to coastal defence that harness, rather than combat, the energy of the sea are being developed but are in relative infancy. The threat of rising sea levels and the associated coastal erosion give an increased impetus to the modelling – both mathematical and physical – of coastal processes. Sea charts provide depth, tide and landmark information for seafarers and mariners. Water levels are measured by a variety of means. In estuarine and port locations it is quite common for recording to be only semi-automated. Tides display an inherent regularity, due to the regularity of astronomical processes. The residual, which is considered to be the contribution of all non-tidal effects on the total water level, can be both positive and negative.
