Insight into Marine Science

Insight into marine science

Local interest

The following information are about local topics related in some way to the research we carry out at the laboratory.

A man with a mission
William Hutchinson, a local man, recorded high and low waters at Liverpool every day for 35 years. These records, recently brought to light, give us one of the longest sea level records in the world. Hopefully they will shed some light on the progression of sea level rise. [More]

The Dee and Mersey bores
In most tidal rivers the change from ebb to flood is a gradual process. The ebb current downstream slows, there is a period of slack water and then very slowly the flood tide starts flowing upstream. In a few rivers however, the behaviour is remarkably different. The onset of the flood tide is marked by a distinct and sometimes very vigorous wave - a bore . Two local rivers, the Mersey and Dee have bores which are worth a visit.
[More] [Tidal river bores - the biggest]

The River Dee
The River Dee, between Wirral and North Wales, is unusual in that comparatively little water occupies so large a basin. One theory of a contributory factor to the large basin is that once the River Mersey and/or the River Severn flowed into the Dee. A more recent theory, however, is that the estuary was not formed by water, but by ice being pushed southwards by the pressure of an icecap over the Irish Sea. The water has never been sufficient to scour out an adequate navigation channel through the deep glacial silt. [More]

The River Mersey
The River Mersey rises in the Pennines and flows 70 miles to the Irish Sea. The River Mersey has the second highest tidal range in the UK, varying from 4m at neaps to 10m at spring tides. The river flow is about 1% of the tidal flow.

During earlier times, the tides and gales of the Merseyside winters would probably have been too severe for Roman and Anglo-Norman ships, but a hamlet, Liverpool, developed around the pool for spring and summer use. The name Liverpool is thought to have been derived from the Anglo-Norman translation from Latin, meaning 'spring time anchorage'. Liverpool was granted its first Royal Charter in 1207 by King John, for the development of the town. Growth, however, was slow until the 18th century. [More]