Q) Has anyone carried out a study to discover what possible impact rising sea levels in the next 100 years will have on the tidal flow around the British Isles. Would the tidal ebb and flow be more aggressive than it is a present e.g. if the sea level were to rise by 1m, would sea level at low tide and high tide both be 1m higher than they are now or will the moon have a bigger impact on more water and speed things up a bit?
A) - from Prof Richard Burrows of Liverpool Uni:
Water levels fluctuate over the same range but about the new water level in the coastal waters.
There are likely to be further changes in the estuaries where the tide becomes asymmetric; Our computational studies show only a very small change in tidal magnitudes around the coast from a ~0.8m increase in sea levels

Tidal barrage across Solway can power all of Cumbria
A government energy expert has indicated that a tidal barrage across the Solway from Anthorn would power the whole of Cumbria.
After Northwest Regional Development Agency’s (NWDA) chose to commission a £100,000 feasibility study looking into tidal energy options on the Solway Firth, Joe Flanagan, head of energy at the Agency, said that a barrage would produce enough electricity for 300,000 homes.
Flanagan, according to The Cumberland News, said that the study will be much wider than just a barrage.
“We will consider all kinds of tidal energy technologies and not just in this area but out to the Irish Sea. Any scheme will have an environmental and social impact. The barrage would be the most efficient but clearly it would also have the biggest environmental impact,” he said.
Located on the border between Scotland and England, the Firth is estimated to hold up to 180MW of tidal power, and the NWDA is actively promoting the possibility of building a tidal barrage between Bowness in Cumbria and Annan in Dumfries.
The concept of the Solway Energy Gateway is being actively promoted and seeks to extract energy from the Solway Firth by means of a tidal range barrage located between Bowness and Annan. The study will be carried out by a consortium led by the Halcrow Group Limited.

Present Position:
A desktop environmental impact assessment was completed in August 2007 by the Environment Centre, Lancaster University, relating to two of the proposed developments. Also a desktop feasibility study relating to the extraction of tidal power from the Solway was carried out by the Engineering Dept, University of Liverpool.
A PhD is currently being run by University of Liverpool around the SEG proposal
A unique Scottish – English cross border meeting was held 25th September specifically to look at the possibilities of taking forward the Solway Energy Gateway proposal which would have significant affects both sides of the border.
Those attending the meeting were at a senior level.
The meeting concluded that there was a keen interest from all those present to look at taking the proposal to the next level. A pivotal part of the next step was early engagement with environmental groups who had legislative powers and were key advisors to Government. The meeting wanted to have a full understanding from the environmental partners as to what would be considered 'showstoppers' from the possible development options.
The meeting also requested a clear understanding of the full legislative and planning process that would need to be undertaken on both sides of the border and whether or not one process could satisfy both parties.
The meeting also requested full information on the current economic impact of the Solway.
The above points are to be reported back to a follow-up cross border meeting to be held on 12th December.
Consideration will be given to the funding of a feasibility study which will include a full environmental impact assessment, geological survey, social and economic impact study, power extraction and engineering studies. This would be expected to take two years to complete.
Although apart from the initial press interest a relatively low profile has been kept around the proposal but there appears to be broad community support from those aware of the proposal.
All relevant politicians are aware of the proposal and have expressed support.
The NDA have also expressed support for the proposal.