The Humber Observatory: Monitoring, Modelling and Management for the Coastal Environment

Abstract

The Humber Observatory consists of VHF receiving stations, and control and analysis computers located within the University which interrogate one hundred sensors located in, around and ofT the Humber Estuary on the east coast of England. The sensors include a standard meteorological station, tide gauges, oceanographic instruments and a "flux curtain" deployed on navigational marks across the mouth of the estuary measuring tidal flows, sediment fluxes and some water chemistry parameters. Sensors are sampled at hourly intervals and up to 256 measurements are logged on each instrument during each sampling. Preliminary flux calculations suggest that Neap and Spring tides transport 0.8 and 1.6 km³ of water on the flood and 0.9 and 1.6 km³ of water on the ebb respectively and that the corresponding figures for suspended sediment transports are 80, 160, 90 and 160 X 10⁶ kg respectively.