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THE THAMES ESTUARY - LONDON
SEA LEVEL CHANGE
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE THAMES ESTUARY
The Thames Estuary is where the mouth of the River Thames
meets the North Sea. The estuary is one of the largest inlets on
the Great British coast.
The population of London was set at 8.3 million people in 2013,
and is predicted to hit an all-time high of 8.6 million later this
year.
The Greater Thames Estuary is characterised by the presence of
mudflats, low-lying open beaches and salt marshes, for example
the North Kent Marshes and the Essex Marshes.
Man-made embankments are backed by reclaimed wetland
grazing areas, but rising sea levels may make it necessary to
temporarily flood some of that land in places at spring tides, to
take the pressure off the defences.
POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF SEA LEVEL CHANGE
ON PEOPLE
There are approximately 500000 properties at risk from flooding, including
420000 properties at risk from tidal flooding throughout the estuary and
85000 at risk from fluvial flooding in London. This houses 1.25 million
people—approximately one-sixth of London's population
Assets within the flood-plain include 400 schools, 16 hospitals, eight power
stations, dozens of industrial estates, the city airport, 30 mainline railway
stations and 38 underground and Docklands Light Railway stations, with this
including most of the central part of the underground network.
POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF SEA LEVEL CHANGE ON THE
ECONOMY
MANAGEMENT OF FLOODING
In urban areas such as London, man made drainage systems may have
inadequate capacity or become blocked leading to further flooding.
Thames Estuary 2100 is a flood management plan for London and the Thames
Estuary, lead by Dave Wardle, Environment Agency. The plan takes into account
the impact of climate change, rising sea levels and the natural ageing of flood
defence infrastructure to plan and manage flood risk in the region up until 2100
Findings of the project:
• Water levels in the Thames Estuary are likely to rise by between 20 cm and 90 cm over the next
century due to thermal expansion of the oceans and additional water from melting glaciers and ice
sheets caused by climate change
• Future peak freshwater flows for the Thames, at Kingston for instance, could increase by around
40% by 2080
• Many of the Thames' defences were built following the 1953 floods and will reach the end of their
design lives during the next 50 years. The system includes the Thames Barrier, over 300 km of fixed
defences and numerous smaller structures
THE THAMES BARRIER
The Thames Barrier is located downstream of
central London. Operational since 1982, its purpose
is to prevent the floodplain of all but the
easternmost boroughs of Greater London from
being flooded by exceptionally high tides and
storm surges moving up from the North Sea.
When needed, it is closed (raised) during high tide;
at low tide it can be opened to restore the river's
flow towards the sea. Built approximately 3 km east
of the Isle of Dogs, its northern bank is in Silvertown
in the London Borough of Newham and its southern
bank is in the New Charlton area of the Royal
Borough of Greenwich.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AokKfziZVJU
THAMES FLOODING!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Recently (LAST WEEKEND) the Environment
Agency issued a flood alert for the Thames,
warning that riverside properties from Putney
Bridge to Teddington Weir could be affected.
The Thames Barrier forecasting and response
team also warned on Friday about the first of a
number of "very high tides" in London.
Some of London's most iconic landmarks are on
the Environment Agency's "at risk" list, including
the Houses of Parliament, Whitehall, City Hall,
Canary Wharf, Westminster Abbey, the Tower of
London, Kew Gardens and the O2 Arena.