Saving the UK's only island city: a tour of Southsea sea defences
A Public Lecture - all welcome.
Throughout its history, Portsmouth has been heavily fortified as a defence against invasion. Now it has a new enemy: a destabilised climate, with rapidly rising seas. This lecture will feature an engineer from Coastal Partners talking about how the new sea defences were built, along with a climate scientist talking about why they had to be built. Finally there will be an exploration of the options and prospects for coastal areas that don’t have £300m to spend.
Date: Wednesday 4th June
Time: 5.30pm - 7pm
Location: Lecture Theatre W1.11, Eldon Building, University of Portsmouth, Winston Churchill Avenue, PO1 2DJ
Our Panel:
- Nick Pepin, University of Portsmouth, will speak about the context of climate change, linking from sea level rise to other regional impacts (such as increasingly intense storms, flooding and heatwaves)
- Alex Prior, Coastal Partners, will talk about how the sea defences were built: history of the area, the engineering challenges, the trade offs in terms of sustainable construction practices etc.
- Samantha Box, also Coastal Partners, will discuss the broader regional coastal management context, including alternative options to reduce coastal flood and erosion risk to people and property by making space for, and working with, nature.
There will be an opportunity to ask questions to our panel of experts, to hear more and sign up for upcoming tours of the Sea Defences led by Coastal Partners.
Tours: Saturday June 14th, 11am and 2pm
There is an option to have a guided tour of the sea defences: to book email info@portsmouthclimateaction.org.uk
Accessibility and special requirements: We will endeavour to provide particular access requirements on request. If you have any access requirements, e.g. wheelchair access, hearing loops or specific neurodiverse requirements, please get in touch in advance of the event.
Any questions you may have, please contact dri@port.ac.uk
