NOC News round-up 06/01/17

New insights into coastal flooding A study published yesterday by scientists at the NOC and University of Liverpool shows the importance of beach morphology in determining whether waves would overtop a coastal defence. This research, conducted as part of the ARCoES project, reveals that uncertainty in modelled wave overtopping volume is more sensitive to initial beach conditions, as well as the impact of event driven beach evolution, than the choice of wave-water levels chosen to represent an event of required severity for coastal flood risk management. This information will provide useful guidance to coastal authorities on model setup for flood risk assessments. To download the paper pdf click here Invisible ocean robots This Thursday NOC's Stephan Hall delivered a lecture on 'underwater drones and invisibility'. This talk covered the use of marine autonomous systems, how light and sound travel underwater, how nature has addressed the challenges of stealth and how technologists could apply lessons from biology to designing future vehicles. Speaking after the talk, at Imperial College London, Stephan Hall said "This was a rare chance to combine biology and technology in a talk for physicists." Little worms, big canyon Nematodes, or roundworms, are the most abundant and the most diverse group of multicellular animals on this planet. The co-author of a study of nematodes in the Whittard canyon, Brian Bett, from the NOC, noted, "As a former nematologist, it was good to report that these often ignored little worms are excellent indicators of environmental conditions and health".  This study was lead by Dr Laetitia Gunton, from the University of Southampton, who compared the ecology of these large nematodes with that of the more commonly studied polychaetes, or 'bristle worms'. To read more click here   This email was sent using GovDelivery, on behalf of: National Oceanography Centre · Waterfront Campus · European Way · Southampton · SO14 3ZH · United Kingdom