Satellite photo of the Songhua River, northeast China - includes Oxbow lakes .
The catchment and reach under study: the Upper Wharfe, Yorkshire Dales National Park, North Yorkshire. Sedimentsensors were installed in the Oughtershaw and Greenfield subcatchments, and at Beckermonds, Deepdale, Hubberholme, Buckden and Starbotton.
Predictions of areas inundated in the 1 in 0·5 with 2002 geometry and flows and with 2002 geometry and 2050s flows
Predictions of are as inundated in the 1 in 0·5 with 2002 geometry and flows and with 2004 geometry and 2002 flows.For the 1-in-0·5-year event, the increase in inundated area was almost one-half of the increase in inundated area estimated as resulting from simulated climate change to the 2050s.The indirect impacts of the climate change signal upon sediment delivery will act so as to reinforce the importance of short-term aggradation upon the magnitude and frequency of floodplain inundation, and that short-term variability in aggradation rates may be superimposed on top of a longer-term, aggradational trend. This emphasizes that the changing flood risk identified here will be strongly impacted upon by climate change, not only because of the direct impacts of climate upon the magnitude and frequency of high flow events, but also because of the indirect effects of changing climate upon coarse sediment delivery which in turn will impact upon coarse sediment delivery and hence aggradation rates.
Hawkcombe Stream, Porlock – 1960 flood
2 million properties in floodplains along rivers, estuaries and coasts in the UK are potentially at risk of river or coastal flooding. In England and Wales alone, over 4 million people and properties valued at over £200 billion are at risk. Flooding, and managing it, cost the UK around £2.2 billion each year: we currently spend around £800 million per annum on flood and coastal defences; and, even with the present flood defences, we experience an average of £1,400 million of damageForesight Future Flooding(Office of Science and Technology – April 2004)