Britain's beaches to benefit from better water quality forecasts

Britain's coastal waters come under scrutiny this week as a new European research project gets under way.

The £3.3m collaborative project, for which the Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory (POL) is coordinating the UK effort, aims to provide better data to provide much more precise water quality forecasts for specific regions over timescales as short as a week. Known as FIELD_AC, the project will focus on the region where the land meets the sea and where there are many conflicting demands on usage of the sea from a variety of sources.

Dr Judith Wolf from POL is leading the UK component of the project. Dr Wolf said, 'Some of the main coastal conflicts and management problems occur within a few kilometres of the land-ocean boundary. Run-off from rainfall, for example, can have a detrimental effect as it can wash faecal coliforms - such as E. coli - from birds and animals into the sea. Fishery managers and swimmers would need to be warned of dangerous levels and we will be able to pinpoint the areas at risk. This project will provide both scientific and operational benefits which will ensure the needs of many different industries can be met.'

The POL researchers will concentrate their investigations on Liverpool Bay, where they have established a Coastal Observatory. This is part of the eastern Irish Sea, bordered by the beaches of Blackpool and North Wales, and is used for many commercial purposes. Marine transport, fisheries, the dredging of marine aggregates and offshore wind-farm operators are some of the other users of our coastal seas who also need detailed forecasts of currents and waves.

The scientists are measuring and recording data such as suspended particles, the concentration of nutrients and trace metals, the effects on marine life, and the strength and direction of currents and waves in the Irish Sea. Combined with satellite observations and state-of-the-art computer models, this localised research will allow highly accurate predictions for coastal runoff and water quality, hazards for marine operations and potential flooding due to surges and waves.

Other countries involved in the project are Spain (which is coordinating the whole project), Belgium, France, Germany, Poland, Italy and Denmark. Along with the UK, their results will feed into a much larger data set which will inform the EU Water Framework Directive and Marine Strategy Directives. The researchers anticipate that private investment and the development of spin-out companies will follow in time.

Formby's beach (10km north of POL) could benefit from better water quality forecasts as part of the new project which was reported in the Formby Times - read article.

The Proudman Oceanographic (POL) scientific research focuses on oceanography encompassing global sea-levels and geodesy, numerical modelling of continental shelf seas and coastal sediment processes. This research alongside activities of surveying, monitoring, data management and forecasting provides strategic support for the wider mission of the Natural Environment Research Council.

As a public funded body it is part of our remit to inform the public of the science and research undertaken at the laboratory. Attending events like the 'Ocean Awareness Weekend' at the Blue Planet Aquarium offers the opportunity for our scientists to meet members of the public and present the laboratory's work.

The Natural Environment Research Council is one of the UK's eight Research Councils. It uses a budget of about £ 350m a year to fund and carry out impartial scientific research in the sciences of the environment. NERC trains the next generation of independent environmental scientists. It is addressing some of the key questions facing mankind, such as global warming, renewable energy and sustainable economic development.