Coastal flood mitigation potential of artificial tidal lagoons

Applications are invited for a PhD studentship within the NERC-ENVISION Doctoral Training Partnership with a project entitled: “Coastal flood mitigation potential of artificial tidal lagoons”.

Marine renewable energy conversion into electric power is a recent frontier in technology development.The United Kingdom is rich in wave and tidal energy, therefore the UK started the exploitation of these important resources. Recently, 6 tidal lagoons have been planned along the English and Welsh coasts. They are designed to supply 8% of UK electricity. These lagoons have the potential to be used, in the event of a storm surge, to actively mitigate the effects of the surge on the coasts. This is possible by regulating the inflow and outflow of the lagoon in order to temporarily store surging water or to help drainage of the low‐lying regions close to the lagoon. The research project will use theoretical and numerical methods.

The candidate will investigate the optimal operating strategy of a tidal lagoon during storm surges and simulate numerically extreme events in the Severn Estuary with and without the proposed tidal lagoons actively mitigating the flood. The student should possess a strong background in Fluid Mechanics and Physics. Knowledge of numerical modelling, familiarity with coastal dynamics and inundation models (e.g. Delft3D, TELEMAC, Mike21) and MATLAB are welcome. He/she will join the Coastal Dynamics and Engineering research group at the University of Nottingham, which is specialized in the theoretical and numerical study of coastal processes and coastal defence design and performance.

Students should have, or expect to obtain, a first-class or good 2:1 honours degree, or a distinction or high merit at MSc level (or international equivalent), in civil engineering, physics, mathematics or closely related disciplines.

For informal enquiries regarding this studentship please contact Dr Riccardo Briganti (email: Riccardo.briganti@nottingham.ac.uk)