Uncategorised

Last month, March 2024, some of our SWCM team were fortunate enough to have a guided tour of the Lower Otter Restoration Project by the project lead Mike Williams, recently retired from the Environment Agency. The Lower Otter Restoration Project was undertaken by the Environment Agency and Clinton Devon Estates (who own the land around…

We regularly survey the beaches around the South West to monitor how high, or low, they are.  Wembury, in South Devon, is one of the sites we measure at least twice a year.  We survey most of our beaches in the autumn and in the spring, after the majority of the storms have passed through.…

We love telling people about what we do!  So, as part of our outreach, we have been busy behind the scenes collaborating with Geography Southwest and have produced some great school resources that show case our extensive datasets.   It’s been brilliant working with Geography SW – they have guided us through how to form lesson…

Servicing Looe Bay Wave Buoy In the south-west we have 13 wave buoys, Directional Wave Rider (DWR) MkIII, which are continually collecting wave data.  They are in quite shallow water, so close to the shore.  In order to ensure they are correctly working – data quality is very important for us! – they get a…

South West Coastal Monitoring (SWCM) provided an irreplaceable one-month placement opportunity at the end of my second-year at the University of Plymouth, where I’m studying BSc (Hons) Geography with Ocean Science. The internship enabled me to gain experiences of beach surveying processes, support the CoastSnap project, alongside learning the procedures required to quality-control topographic and Light…

Recently, our team embarked on an insightful journey with the Channel Coastal Observatory (South East Coastal Monitoring), aiming to level two crucial tide gauges situated in the Southwest region: the Etrometa in Port Isaac and the WaveRex Radar in Exmouth. The primary goal? To discover whether these gauges are experiencing any movement—a potential consequence of…

The South West Coastal Monitoring Annual Meeting, held in November at the University of Plymouth, served as a gathering point for experts, researchers, and practitioners passionate about coastal preservation. Set against the stunning Plymouth skyline with panoramic views of Plymouth Sound, the event focused on the coastal response, both physical and strategic, a decade after…

A key element of the SWCM programme is the creation of a database containing all coastal assets that provide a flood or erosion prevention function, for example a harbour wall or cliff with face protection. These assets are located and digitally mapped, storing various fields of information including ownership and condition grades. Assets along much…

On the 22nd June the SWCM team carried out an annual laser scan on behalf of Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council (BCP). This survey is part of an ongoing elevation monitoring regime of Chesil seawall which started in 2016. We use a Leica C-10 laser scanner to capture the elevation data and Trimble RTK GPS…

Since 2007 we have hosted an annual meeting with speakers from around the UK and often across the globe presenting recent studies and findings on Flood and Coastal Erosion Risk Management related topics. We will be holding this year’s Annual Meeting on Wednesday 8 November 2023 The meeting will be held in the Rolle Building…