Living with the Rising Tides

Sea level has been rising since the end of the last major glaciations around 9700 BC. Our current coastline and our economically important major estuaries such as the Thames and the Humber have all been sculpted by this gradual but persistent inundation. The impact of this rise has been exacerbated in the SE of England by subsidence which has exaggerated the effect. But why does sea level change ? And what is likely to happen in the future given predictions of climate change? This lecture will explore the causes and consequences of past sea level rise as well as the ways in which future climate change might alter our present coastlines and inhibit coastal living. Understanding how the ‘rising tide’ is likely to progress and change life on our blue planet is fundamental to adaptation and adaptation is essential to human survival.

You can now view this presentation online.

Listen to 'Episode 3: The present is the key to the past' in our series of podcasts to hear Lynne Frostick explain what rising tides mean for our future, and how an understanding of our geological past can help us prepare for the future.

Speaker

Lynne Frostick, University of Hull (President, Geological Society)

Biography

Professor Lynne Frostick holds the established chair in Physical Geography at Hull. She is a sedimentologist with more than 35 years research experience in various aspects of river dynamics and particle-fluid interactions.. She has published over a hundred research papers and edited 4 books during her career. She is Director of both the interdisciplinary Hull Environment Research Institute (HERI)and the Environmental Technology Centre for Industrial Collaboration (ETCIC). She was given the Cuthbert Peek award of the Royal Geographical Society in 2005 for he work on’advancing the application of physical modelling to environmental problems and is the current President of the Geological Society.