1.
Geographic coordinate system
–
A geographic coordinate system is a coordinate system used in geography that enables every location on Earth to be specified by a set of numbers, letters or symbols. The coordinates are chosen such that one of the numbers represents a vertical position. A common choice of coordinates is latitude, longitude and elevation, to specify a location on a two-dimensional map requires a map projection. The invention of a coordinate system is generally credited to Eratosthenes of Cyrene. Ptolemy credited him with the adoption of longitude and latitude. Ptolemys 2nd-century Geography used the prime meridian but measured latitude from the equator instead. Mathematical cartography resumed in Europe following Maximus Planudes recovery of Ptolemys text a little before 1300, in 1884, the United States hosted the International Meridian Conference, attended by representatives from twenty-five nations. Twenty-two of them agreed to adopt the longitude of the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, the Dominican Republic voted against the motion, while France and Brazil abstained. France adopted Greenwich Mean Time in place of local determinations by the Paris Observatory in 1911, the latitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle between the equatorial plane and the straight line that passes through that point and through the center of the Earth. Lines joining points of the same latitude trace circles on the surface of Earth called parallels, as they are parallel to the equator, the north pole is 90° N, the south pole is 90° S. The 0° parallel of latitude is designated the equator, the plane of all geographic coordinate systems. The equator divides the globe into Northern and Southern Hemispheres, the longitude of a point on Earths surface is the angle east or west of a reference meridian to another meridian that passes through that point. All meridians are halves of great ellipses, which converge at the north and south poles, the prime meridian determines the proper Eastern and Western Hemispheres, although maps often divide these hemispheres further west in order to keep the Old World on a single side. The antipodal meridian of Greenwich is both 180°W and 180°E, the combination of these two components specifies the position of any location on the surface of Earth, without consideration of altitude or depth. The grid formed by lines of latitude and longitude is known as a graticule, the origin/zero point of this system is located in the Gulf of Guinea about 625 km south of Tema, Ghana. To completely specify a location of a feature on, in, or above Earth. Earth is not a sphere, but a shape approximating a biaxial ellipsoid. It is nearly spherical, but has an equatorial bulge making the radius at the equator about 0. 3% larger than the radius measured through the poles, the shorter axis approximately coincides with the axis of rotation
Geographic coordinate system
–
Longitude lines are perpendicular and latitude lines are parallel to the equator.
2.
Flood barrier
–
A flood barrier, surge barrier or storm surge barrier is a specific type of floodgate, designed to prevent a storm surge or spring tide from flooding the protected area behind the barrier. A surge barrier is almost always part of a flood protection system consisting of floodwalls, levees. Flood barrier may also refer to barriers placed around or at individual buildings to keep floodwaters from entering those buildings, the Delta Works in the Netherlands is the largest flood protection project in the world. This project consists of a number of barriers, the Oosterscheldekering being the largest surge barrier in the world,9 kilometres long. Other examples include the Maeslantkering, Haringvlietdam and the Hartelkering, the Thames Barrier is the worlds second largest movable flood barrier and is located downstream of central London. Its purpose is to prevent London from being flooded by high tides. It needs to be raised only during high tide, at ebb tide it can be lowered to release the water backs up behind it. In 2007 the United States Army Corps of Engineers started construction of a project that aimed to prevent storm surges from flooding the city by 2011. The IHNC Lake Borgne Surge Barrier on the confluence of these waterways is the largest in the United States and it protects the city from the Gulf of Mexico from flooding the area. The new Seabrook floodgate prevents a storm surge from entering from Lake Ponchartrain, the GIWW West Closure Complex closes the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to protect the west side of the city. This complex is unique in that it contains the worlds largest pumping station, the Eider Barrage is located at the mouth of the river Eider near Tönning on Germany’s North Sea coast. Its main purpose is protection from storm surges by the North Seas and it is Germany’s largest coastal protection structure. The Saint Petersburg Dam is a 16 km barrier separating the Gulf of Finland from Neva Bay to protect the city of Saint Petersburg, the Soviet Union started construction of the barrier in 1978 and it was completed and made operational in 2011. The New Bedford Harbor Hurricane Barrier protects the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts, with an immovable barrier of stone. It has three land and one door for access in calm seas. The nearby Fox Point Hurricane Barrier protects the city of Providence, the US Army Corps of Engineers also owns and operates the hurricane barrier at Stamford, CT. The MOSE Project is intended to protect the city of Venice, Italy, the River Foss, York, UK has a barrier to control the inflow of fast moving water from the River Ouse that may overspill its banks upstream the Foss and flood surrounding properties. The New York Harbor Storm-Surge Barrier is a proposed flood barrier system that would protect the harbor
Flood barrier
–
The
Oosterscheldekering contains 62 steel doors, each 42 metres (138 ft) wide
Flood barrier
–
The Maeslantkering closes the main entrance to the
Port of Rotterdam, the largest port in Europe.
Flood barrier
–
River Thames Flood Barrier
Flood barrier
–
The IHNC Surge Barrier, being built by the US Army Corps of Engineers. The
GIWW in the foreground, the
MRGO in the background
3.
River Thames
–
The River Thames is a river that flows through southern England, most notably through London. At 215 miles, it is the longest river entirely in England and it also flows through Oxford, Reading, Henley-on-Thames and Windsor. The lower reaches of the river are called the Tideway, derived from its tidal reach up to Teddington Lock. It rises at Thames Head in Gloucestershire, and flows into the North Sea via the Thames Estuary, the Thames drains the whole of Greater London. Its tidal section, reaching up to Teddington Lock, includes most of its London stretch and has a rise, in Scotland, the Tay achieves more than double the average discharge from a drainage basin that is 60% smaller. Along its course are 45 navigation locks with accompanying weirs and its catchment area covers a large part of South Eastern and a small part of Western England and the river is fed by 38 named tributaries. The river contains over 80 islands, in 2010, the Thames won the largest environmental award in the world – the $350,000 International Riverprize. The Thames, from Middle English Temese, is derived from the Brittonic Celtic name for the river, Tamesas, recorded in Latin as Tamesis and yielding modern Welsh Tafwys Thames. It has also suggested that it is not of Celtic origin. A place by the river, rather than the river itself, indirect evidence for the antiquity of the name Thames is provided by a Roman potsherd found at Oxford, bearing the inscription Tamesubugus fecit. It is believed that Tamesubugus name was derived from that of the river, tamese was referred to as a place, not a river in the Ravenna Cosmography. The rivers name has always pronounced with a simple t /t/, the Middle English spelling was typically Temese. A similar spelling from 1210, Tamisiam, is found in the Magna Carta, the Thames through Oxford is sometimes called the Isis. Ordnance Survey maps still label the Thames as River Thames or Isis down to Dorchester, richard Coates suggests that while the river was as a whole called the Thames, part of it, where it was too wide to ford, was called *lowonida. An alternative, and simpler proposal, is that London may also be a Germanic word, for merchant seamen, the Thames has long been just the London River. Londoners often refer to it simply as the river in such as south of the river. Thames Valley Police is a body that takes its name from the river. The marks of human activity, in cases dating back to Pre-Roman Britain, are visible at various points along the river
River Thames
–
The Thames in London
River Thames
River Thames
–
A statue of Old Father Thames by
Raffaelle Monti at
St John's Lock, Lechlade.
River Thames
–
The marker stone at the official source of the River Thames near
Kemble.
4.
Central London
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Central London is the innermost part of London, UK. Over time a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. From 2004 to 2008, the London Plan included a sub-region called Central London comprising Camden, Islington, Kensington and Chelsea, Lambeth, Southwark, Wandsworth and it had a 2001 population of 1,525,000. The sub-region was replaced in 2008 with a new structure which amalgamated inner and outer boroughs together and this was altered in 2011 when a new Central London sub region was created, now including the City of London and excluding Wandsworth. However, districts at the edge of this subregion such as Streatham, Dulwich. During the Herbert Commission and the subsequent passage of the London Government Bill, the first two were detailed in the 1959 Memorandum of Evidence of the Greater London Group of the London School of Economics. It had an population of 350,000 and occupied 7,000 acres. The area had an population of 400,000 and occupied 8,000 acres. During the passage of the London Government Bill an amendment was put forward to create a central borough corresponding to the used at the 1961 census. The population was estimated to be 270,000
Central London
–
Panorama of central London as seen from the
London Eye
Central London
–
OpenStreetMap of Central London.
5.
Floodplain
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In other words, a floodplain is an area near a river or a stream which floods when the water level reaches flood stage. Flood plains are made by a meander eroding sideways as it travels downstream, when a river breaks its banks and floods, it leaves behind layers of alluvium. These gradually build up to create the floor of the flood plain, floodplains generally contain unconsolidated sediments, often extending below the bed of the stream. These are accumulations of sand, gravel, loam, silt, and/or clay, and are often important aquifers, geologically ancient floodplains are often represented in the landscape by fluvial terraces. These are old floodplains that remain relatively high above the present floodplain and it is probable that any section of such an alluvial plain would show deposits of a similar character. The floodplain during its formation is marked by meandering or anastomotic streams, oxbow lakes and bayous, marshes or stagnant pools, and is occasionally completely covered with water. When the drainage system has ceased to act or is diverted for any reason. The floodplain differs, however, because it is not altogether flat and it has a gentle slope downstream, and often, for a distance, from the side towards the center. The floodplain is the place for a river to dissipate its energy. Meanders form over the floodplain to slow down the flow of water, in terms of flood management the upper part of the floodplain is crucial as this is where the flood water control starts. Artificial canalisation of the river here will have a impact on wider flooding. This is the basis of flood management. Floodplains can support particularly rich ecosystems, both in quantity and diversity, tugay forests form an ecosystem associated with floodplains, especially in Central Asia. They are a category of riparian zones or systems, a floodplain can contain 100 or even 1,000 times as many species as a river. Microscopic organisms thrive and larger species enter a rapid breeding cycle, opportunistic feeders move in to take advantage. The production of nutrients peaks and falls away quickly, however the surge of new growth endures for some time and this makes floodplains particularly valuable for agriculture. River flow rates are undergoing change following suit with climate change and this change is a threat to the riparian zones and other flood plain forests. These forests have over time synced their seedling deposits after the peaks in flow to best take advantage of the nutrient rich soil generated by peak flow
Floodplain
–
Paraná River Floodplain, at its confluence as his right headstream
Paranaíba with the
Verde River near
Panorama, Brazil. Astronaut photo, 2012.
Floodplain
–
View of the flood plain following a 1 in 10 year flood on the
Isle of Wight
Floodplain
–
Gravel floodplain of a glacial river near the Snow Mountains in
Alaska, 1902
Floodplain
–
Entrenched river: The
Virgin River at the upper end of Zion Canyon,
Zion National Park,
Utah, has almost no floodplain at all.
6.
London boroughs
–
London boroughs are 32 of the 33 local authority districts of the Greater London administrative area and are each governed by a London borough council. The London boroughs were all created at the time as Greater London on 1 April 1965 by the London Government Act 1963 and are a type of local government district. Twelve were designated as Inner London boroughs and twenty as Outer London boroughs, London boroughs have populations of around 150,000 to 300,000. Inner London boroughs tend to be smaller, in population and area, and more densely populated than Outer London boroughs. The London boroughs were created by combining groups of local government units. A review undertaken between 1987 and 1992 led to a number of small alterations in borough boundaries. London borough councils provide the majority of government services, in contrast to the strategic Greater London Authority. The councils were first elected in 1964 and acted as shadow authorities until 1 April 1965, each borough is divided into electoral wards, subject to periodic review, for the purpose of electing councillors. Council elections take place four years, with the most recent elections in 2014. The political make-up of London borough councils is dominated by the Conservative, Labour, twenty-eight councils follow the leader and cabinet model of executive governance, with directly elected mayors in Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, and Tower Hamlets. The City of London is instead governed by the City of London Corporation, from the mid-1930s, the Greater London area comprised four types of local government authorities. There were county boroughs, municipal boroughs, urban districts and metropolitan boroughs, the large county boroughs provided all local government services and held the powers usually invested in county councils. The municipal borough and urban district authorities had fewer powers, reform of London local government sought to regularise this arrangement. The Royal Commission on Local Government in Greater London was established in 1957 and it proposed 52 Greater London Boroughs with a population range of 100,000 to 250,000. This was made up of a mixture of existing units. In December 1961 the government proposed that there would be 34 boroughs rather than 52, the proposed number was further reduced to 32 in 1962. On 1 April 1965, the 32 London boroughs and Greater London were created by the London Government Act 1963,12 boroughs in the former County of London area were designated Inner London boroughs and the 20 others were designated Outer London boroughs. The City of London continued to be administered by the City of London Corporation, elections were held on 7 May 1964, with the new councils acting as shadow authorities before coming into their powers the following year
London boroughs
–
The thirty-two London boroughs in
England
7.
Greater London
–
London, or Greater London, is a region of England which forms the administrative boundaries of London. It is organised into 33 local government districts, the 32 London boroughs, the Greater London Authority, based in Southwark, is responsible for strategic local government across the region and consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The county of Greater London was created on 1 April 1965 through the London Government Act 1963, administratively, Greater London was first established as a sui generis council area under the Greater London Council between 1963 and 1986. The area was re-established as a region in 1994, and the Greater London Authority formed in 2000, the region covers 1,572 km2 and had a population of 8,174,000 at the 2011 census. In 2012, it had the highest GVA per capita in the United Kingdom at £37,232, the Greater London Built-up Area—used in some national statistics—is a measure of the continuous urban area of London, and therefore includes areas outside of the administrative region. The term Greater London has been and still is used to different areas in governance, statistics, history. In terms of ceremonial counties, London is divided into the small City of London, outside the limited boundaries of the City, a variety of arrangements has governed the wider area since 1855, culminating in the creation of the Greater London administrative area in 1965. The Greater London Arterial Road Programme was devised between 1913 and 1916, one of the larger early forms was the Greater London Planning Region, devised in 1927, which occupied 1,856 square miles and included 9 million people. The LCC pressed for an alteration in its boundaries soon after the end of the First World War, noting that within the Metropolitan, a Royal Commission on London Government was set up to consider the issue. The LCC proposed a vast new area for Greater London, with a boundary somewhere between the Metropolitan Police District and the home counties, protests were made at the possibility of including Windsor, Slough and Eton in the authority. The Commission made its report in 1923, rejecting the LCCs scheme, two minority reports favoured change beyond the amalgamation of smaller urban districts, including both smaller borough councils and a central authority for strategic functions. The London Traffic Act 1924 was a result of the Commission, Greater London originally had a two-tier system of local government, with the Greater London Council sharing power with the City of London Corporation and the 32 London Borough councils. The GLC was abolished in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its functions were devolved to the City Corporation and the London Boroughs, with some functions transferred to central government and joint boards. Greater London was used to form the London region of England in 1994, a referendum held in 1998 established a public will to recreate an upper tier of government to cover the region. The Greater London Authority, London Assembly and the directly elected Mayor of London were created in 2000 by the Greater London Authority Act 1999, in 2000, the outer boundary of the Metropolitan Police District was re-aligned to the Greater London boundary. The 2000 and 2004 mayoral elections were won by Ken Livingstone, the 2008 and 2012 elections were won by Boris Johnson. The 2016 election was won by Sadiq Khan, Greater London continues to include the most closely associated parts of the Greater London Urban Area and their historic buffers. Thus it includes, in five boroughs, significant parts of the Metropolitan Green Belt which protects designated greenfield land in a way to the citys parks
Greater London
–
London
Greater London
–
Greater London shown within England
Greater London
–
The Greater London Authority is based in
City Hall
Greater London
–
High resolution view from the top of Tolworth Tower in South West London over the sprawling suburban housing that is typical in some areas of Greater London
8.
Tide
–
Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and the Sun and the rotation of the Earth. Some shorelines experience a semi-diurnal tide—two nearly equal high and low tides each day, other locations experience a diurnal tide—only one high and low tide each day. A mixed tide—two uneven tides a day, or one high, Tides vary on timescales ranging from hours to years due to a number of factors. To make accurate records, tide gauges at fixed stations measure water level over time, gauges ignore variations caused by waves with periods shorter than minutes. These data are compared to the level usually called mean sea level. Tidal phenomena are not limited to the oceans, but can occur in other systems whenever a gravitational field varies in time. For example, the part of the Earth is affected by tides. Tide changes proceed via the following stages, Sea level rises over several hours, covering the intertidal zone, the water rises to its highest level, reaching high tide. Sea level falls over several hours, revealing the intertidal zone, the water stops falling, reaching low tide. Oscillating currents produced by tides are known as tidal streams, the moment that the tidal current ceases is called slack water or slack tide. The tide then reverses direction and is said to be turning, slack water usually occurs near high water and low water. But there are locations where the moments of slack tide differ significantly from those of high, Tides are commonly semi-diurnal, or diurnal. The two high waters on a day are typically not the same height, these are the higher high water. Similarly, the two low waters each day are the low water and the lower low water. The daily inequality is not consistent and is small when the Moon is over the equator. From the highest level to the lowest, Highest Astronomical Tide – The highest tide which can be predicted to occur, note that meteorological conditions may add extra height to the HAT. Mean High Water Springs – The average of the two high tides on the days of spring tides, mean High Water Neaps – The average of the two high tides on the days of neap tides. Mean Sea Level – This is the sea level
Tide
–
High tide,
Alma, New Brunswick in the
Bay of Fundy, 1972
Tide
–
Low tide at the same fishing port in
Bay of Fundy, 1972
Tide
–
In
Maine (U.S.) low tide occurs roughly at moonrise and high tide with a high moon, corresponding to the simple gravity model of two tidal bulges; at most places however, moon and tides have a phase shift.
Tide
–
Low tide at Bangchuidao Scenic Area,
Dalian,
Liaoning Province,
China
9.
Storm surge
–
Most casualties during tropical cyclones occur as the result of storm surges. The deadliest storm surge on record was the 1970 Bhola cyclone, the low-lying coast of the Bay of Bengal is particularly vulnerable to surges caused by tropical cyclones. The deadliest storm surge in the twenty-first century was caused by the Cyclone Nargis, the next deadliest in this century was caused by the Typhoon Haiyan, which killed more than 6,000 people in the central Philippines in 2013 and resulted in economic losses estimated at $14 billion. Louis, Diamondhead and Pass Christian in Mississippi, a high storm surge occurred in New York City from Hurricane Sandy in October 2012, with a high tide of 14 ft. The pressure effects of a tropical cyclone will cause the level in the open ocean to rise in regions of low atmospheric pressure. The rising water level will counteract the low pressure such that the total pressure at some plane beneath the water surface remains constant. This effect is estimated at a 10 mm increase in sea level for every millibar drop in atmospheric pressure, strong surface winds cause surface currents at a 45° angle to the wind direction, by an effect known as the Ekman Spiral. Wind stresses cause a phenomenon referred to as wind set-up, which is the tendency for water levels to increase at the downwind shore, intuitively, this is caused by the storm simply blowing the water towards one side of the basin in the direction of its winds. Because the Ekman Spiral effects spread vertically through the water, the effect is proportional to depth. The pressure effect and the wind set-up on an open coast will be driven into bays in the way as the astronomical tide. The Earths rotation causes the Coriolis effect, which bends currents to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. When this bend brings the currents into more contact with the shore it can amplify the surge. The effect of waves, while powered by the wind, is distinct from a storms wind-powered currents. Powerful wind whips up large, strong waves in the direction of its movement, although these surface waves are responsible for very little water transport in open water, they may be responsible for significant transport near the shore. When waves are breaking on a more or less parallel to the beach. The rainfall effect is experienced predominantly in estuaries, Hurricanes may dump as much as 12 in of rainfall in 24 hours over large areas, and higher rainfall densities in localized areas. As a result, watersheds can quickly surge water into the rivers that drain them and this can increase the water level near the head of tidal estuaries as storm-driven waters surging in from the ocean meet rainfall flowing from the estuary. This situation well exemplified by the southeast coast of Florida
Storm surge
–
Total destruction of the
Bolivar Peninsula (Texas) by
Hurricane Ike 's meteotsunamic storm surge in 2008
Storm surge
–
Extratropical storm surge model (ETSSM) showing negative water levels, developed bt the
National Weather Service. Similar to the SLOSH model, the ETSSM runs off the GFS computer model, and can provide guidance on above or below average water levels in a certain geographical domain as the result of a storm system's influence.
Storm surge
–
Hurricane Ike meteotsunamic storm surge damage in
Gilchrist, Texas in 2008.
10.
North Sea
–
The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and it is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of around 570,000 square kilometres. The North Sea has long been the site of important European shipping lanes as well as a major fishery, the North Sea was the centre of the Vikings rise. Subsequently, the Hanseatic League, the Netherlands, and the British each sought to dominate the North Sea and thus the access to the markets, as Germanys only outlet to the ocean, the North Sea continued to be strategically important through both World Wars. The coast of the North Sea presents a diversity of geological and geographical features, in the north, deep fjords and sheer cliffs mark the Norwegian and Scottish coastlines, whereas in the south it consists primarily of sandy beaches and wide mudflats. Due to the population, heavy industrialization, and intense use of the sea and area surrounding it. In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean, in the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively. In the north it is bordered by the Shetland Islands, and connects with the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea is more than 970 kilometres long and 580 kilometres wide, with an area of 570,000 square kilometres and a volume of 54,000 cubic kilometres. Around the edges of the North Sea are sizeable islands and archipelagos, including Shetland, Orkney, the North Sea receives freshwater from a number of European continental watersheds, as well as the British Isles. A large part of the European drainage basin empties into the North Sea including water from the Baltic Sea, the largest and most important rivers flowing into the North Sea are the Elbe and the Rhine – Meuse watershed. Around 185 million people live in the catchment area of the rivers discharging into the North Sea encompassing some highly industrialized areas, for the most part, the sea lies on the European continental shelf with a mean depth of 90 metres. The only exception is the Norwegian trench, which extends parallel to the Norwegian shoreline from Oslo to a north of Bergen. It is between 20 and 30 kilometres wide and has a depth of 725 metres. The Dogger Bank, a vast moraine, or accumulation of unconsolidated glacial debris and this feature has produced the finest fishing location of the North Sea. The Long Forties and the Broad Fourteens are large areas with uniform depth in fathoms. These great banks and others make the North Sea particularly hazardous to navigate, the Devils Hole lies 200 miles east of Dundee, Scotland. The feature is a series of trenches between 20 and 30 kilometres long,1 and 2 kilometres wide and up to 230 metres deep. Other areas which are less deep are Cleaver Bank, Fisher Bank, the International Hydrographic Organization defines the limits of the North Sea as follows, On the Southwest
North Sea
–
North Sea
North Sea
–
The German North Sea coast
North Sea
–
The
Afsluitdijk (Closure-dike) is a major dam in the Netherlands
North Sea
–
Zuid-Beveland,
North Sea flood of 1953
11.
Isle of Dogs
–
The Isle of Dogs is an area in the East End of London that is bounded on three sides by one of the largest meanders in the River Thames. The soil is alluvial and silty in nature, underlaid by clay or mud, the first known written mention of the Isle of Dogs is in the ‘Letters & Papers of Henry VIII’. Some say it is a corruption of the Isle of Ducks, Jonson was imprisoned for a year, Nashe avoided arrest by fleeing the area. Samuel Pepys referred to the unlucky Isle of Dogs, the presence of Dutch engineers reclaiming the land from a disastrous flood. The presence of gibbets on the foreshore facing Greenwich, a yeoman farmer called Brache, this being an old word for a type of hunting dog. The original docks located here were used for firewood importation and the phrase is linked to fire dogs, the dogs of a later king, Henry VIII, who also kept deer in Greenwich Park. Again it is thought that his hunting dogs might have kept in derelict farm buildings on the Island. Isle of Dykes, which then got corrupted over the years, the whole area was once simply known as Stepney Marsh, Anton van den Wyngaerdes Panorama of London dated 1543 depicts and refers to the Isle of Dogs. Records show that ships preparing to carry the English royal household to Calais in 1520 docked at the bank of the Island. The name Isle of Dogges occurs in the Thamesis Descriptio of 1588, the name is next applied to the Isle of Dogs Fam shown on a map of 1683. At the same time, the area was known as Isle of Dogs or the Blackwell levels. By 1855, it was incorporated within the parish of Poplar under the aegis of the Poplar Board of Works and this was incorporated into the Metropolitan Borough of Poplar on its formation in 1900. After the building of the Docks, and with an increasing population and this area includes Millwall, Cubitt Town, and Blackwall. The south of the isle opposite Greenwich was once known as North Greenwich, between 1986 and 1992 it enjoyed a brief formal existence, as the name Isle of Dogs was applied to one of seven neighbourhoods to which power was devolved from the council. It was the site of the highest concentration of housing in England but is now best known as the location of the Canary Wharf office complex. One Canada Square, also known as the Canary Wharf Tower, is the second tallest habitable building in Britain at 244 metres, the Isle of Dogs is situated some distance downriver from the City of London. The area was sparsely populated marshland before its drainage and planting in the 13th century. A catastrophic flood occurred in 1488, resulting in the returning to its previous marshy condition
Isle of Dogs
–
Isle of Dogs as shown in
John Rocque 's map of London, 1747 showing the area before development
Isle of Dogs
Isle of Dogs
–
Aerial view the Isle of Dogs in 2015. The O2 Arena can be seen on the
Greenwich Peninsula to the right (east) of the Isle of Dogs.
Isle of Dogs
–
1899 The Isle of Dogs, at the height of its commercial success
12.
Silvertown
–
It was named after Samuel Winkworth Silvers former rubber factory which opened in 1852, and is now dominated by the Tate & Lyle sugar refinery and the John Knight ABP animal rendering plant. In 1852 S. W. Silver and Co moved to the area from Greenwich and established a rubber works and this subsequently developed into the works of the India Rubber, Gutta Percha and Telegraph Cable Company, which constructed and laid many submarine cables. By the 1860s a number of manure and chemical works and petroleum storage depots had been set up, in 1864 the area became an ecclesiastical parish of its own, centred on the church of St Marks. Sugar refiners in the area were joined by Henry Tate in 1877 and Abram Lyle in 1881, prior to the merger, which occurred after they had died, the two men were bitter business rivals, although they had never met in person. Tate & Lyle still has two refineries in the area. In 1889 Silvers factory was the scene of a week long strike by the majority of its 3,000 workers. The strikers were demanding pay and were inspired by the recent successes of New Unionism in the East End of London. Management refused to negotiate with the strikers who had popular support. Leading figures in the strike included Tom Mann and Eleanor Marx, the workers were eventually starved back to work, with many being victimised for their role. In the aftermath of the strike, Silvers declared a dividend of 5 percent. Silvers management were congratulated by the rest of the industry for holding a line against New Unionism, on 19 January 1917 parts of Silvertown were devastated by a massive TNT explosion at the Brunner-Mond munitions factory, in what is known as the Silvertown explosion. Seventy three people died and hundreds were injured in one of the largest explosions ever experienced in the British Isles. In the early 20th Century the area suffered greatly from road congestion due to being located between the Thames and the Royal Docks, then the largest and one of the busiest dock groups in the world. The area was cut off for much of the time by lifting bridges over dock entrances and this led in the early 1930s to the construction of the elevated Silvertown Way, one of the earliest urban flyovers. On the first night of The Blitz, Tate and Lyles sugar refinery, John Knights Primrose Soapworks, Silvers was eventually taken over by the British Tyre and Rubber Co, later known as BTR Industries. The site closed in the 1960s and is now the Thameside Industrial Estate, another major local employer was the Loders and Nucoline plant at Cairn Mills, a traditional port oleo industry and formerly part of Unilever. This originally milled seeds but later concentrated on production of fats from palm kernel oil, the district formed part of the County Borough of West Ham in Essex until 1965. On 21 April 2015, Newham Council gave planning permission to The Silvertown Partnership for a new £3. 5billion redevelopment of the area, the 7 million square foot development will provide offices, a tech hub,3,000 new homes and brand experience pavilions
Silvertown
–
Tate & Lyle Silvertown sugar refinery
Silvertown
–
Construction in Silvertown (view from Shooter's Hill)
13.
London Borough of Newham
–
It is 5 miles east of the City of London, north of the River Thames. Newham was one of the six host boroughs for the 2012 Summer Olympics, the local authority is Newham London Borough Council. The boroughs motto, from its Coat of Arms, is Progress with the People, the Coat of Arms was derived from that of the County Borough of West Ham, while the motto is a translation of the County Borough of East Hams Latin Progressio cum Populo. Green Street and Boundary Road mark the boundary between the two. North Woolwich also became part of the borough along with an area west of the River Roding which had previously been part of the Municipal Borough of Barking. Newham was devised for the borough as a new name. Unlike most English districts, its council is led by an elected mayor of Newham. From 2002 to 2009 one of the councillors had been appointed as the ambassador and performed the civic. The borough is considered part of Outer London for purposes such as funding and this is because the majority of Newham was not part of the 1889–1965 County of London. The council is actively campaigning to have Newham officially considered part of Inner London in order to increase its level of government grant by £60 million, at the borough elections held in 2014, the Labour Party won all 60 of the seats on the Council. Sir Robin Wales was re-elected as the boroughs Executive Mayor with 61% of the first preference votes cast, Newham has the youngest overall population and one of the lowest White British populations in the country according to the 2011 Census. The borough has the second highest percentage of Muslims in Britain, after the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, at 32%. When using Simpsons Diversity Index on 10 aggregated ethnic groups, the 2001 census identified Newham as the most ethnically diverse district in England and Wales, Newham has the lowest percentage of White British residents of all of Londons boroughs. The joint-lowest wards with White British population are Green Street East and Green Street West, East Ham North is closely followed, at 4. 9%. People of White British ancestry nevertheless remain the largest single group in the borough. The largest non-White British ethnic groups are Indian, African, Bangladeshi, Newham has had for many decades a large Indian community. The ethnic group to increase the most in number since 1991 is the Bangladeshi community, the Borough is the education authority for the district providing education in a mix of Foundation, community and voluntary aided schools. The Essex Primary School in Sheridan Road with over 900 pupils is one of the biggest primary schools in London and this is currently based on the UEL Stratford campus, but is planned to move to its own facilities
London Borough of Newham
–
Coat of arms
London Borough of Newham
–
Newham shown within
Greater London
London Borough of Newham
–
Newham Town Hall in
East Ham (
E6)
London Borough of Newham
–
Green Street where the population is predominantly
South Asian
14.
Royal Borough of Greenwich
–
The Royal Borough of Greenwich is a London borough in south-east London, England. The local council is Greenwich London Borough Council which meets in Woolwich Town Hall, the councils offices are also based in Woolwich, the main urban centre in the borough. Greenwich is world-famous as the location of the Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian running through Greenwich and the Greenwich Observatory is where the designation Greenwich Mean Time, or GMT began, in 2012, Greenwich was listed as a top ten global destination by Frommers – the only UK destination to be listed. Greenwich was one of six host boroughs for the 2012 London Olympics and events were held at the Royal Artillery Barracks, Greenwich Park and it is also the home borough of professional football club Charlton Athletic. It was formed in 1965 by merging the areas of the metropolitan boroughs of Greenwich. The name Charlton was briefly considered for the borough, Greenwich once applied for city status, but was turned down. If the application had been accepted the borough would have known as the City of Greenwich. The borough lies along the bank of the River Thames between Deptford and Thamesmead. It has an area of 5,044 hectares, because of the bends of the river, its waterfront is as long as 8.5 miles. The boroughs population in 2011 was 254,557,52. 3% of the community defined themselves as white British. The largest minority groups represented were of Black and Asian heritage, central Greenwich Town contains a UNESCO World Heritage Site centred on Christopher Wrens Royal Naval College and the Old Royal Observatory. The 2013/14 Mayor was Cllr Angela Cornforth, the 2014/15 Mayor was Cllr M Hayes. The 2015/16 Mayor was Cllr Norman Adams, the 2016/17 Mayor is Cllr Olu Babatola, the first African born individual to be elected to the office. The ‘time-ball’ is set with small rubies, the Executive is composed of ten Labour members, led by Cllr Chris Roberts who has been Leader of the Council since 2001. Arms were originally granted to the London Borough by letters patent dated 1 October 1965, although much of the 1965 design has been retained, the arms have been altered in 2012 by the addition of a representation of the Thames. In addition a crest and supporters were added to the arms, the Royal Borough of Greenwich is twinned with, – Tema, Ghana – Reinickendorf, Berlin, Germany – Maribor, Slovenia Greenwich London Borough Council comprises 51 councillors. The Labour Party currently has a majority on the council, holding 43 seats
Royal Borough of Greenwich
–
Greenwich and Observatory
Royal Borough of Greenwich
15.
Hermann Bondi
–
Sir Hermann Bondi KCB FRS was an Anglo-Austrian mathematician and cosmologist. He is best known for developing the Steady State theory of the universe with Fred Hoyle and he contributed to the theory of general relativity. Bondi was born in Vienna, the son of a medical doctor and he was brought up in Vienna, where he studied at the Realgymnasium. He showed early prodigious ability at mathematics, and was recommended to Arthur Eddington by Abraham Fraenkel, Eddington encouraged him to travel to England to read the mathematical tripos at Trinity College, Cambridge. He arrived in Cambridge in 1937, escaping from anti-semitism in Austria, realising the perilous position of his parents in 1938, shortly before the Anschluss, he sent them a telegram telling them to leave Austria at once. They managed to reach Switzerland, and later settled in New York, in the early years of World War II, he was interned on the Isle of Man and in Canada as a friendly enemy alien. Other internees included Thomas Gold and Max Perutz, Bondi and Gold had been released by the end of 1941, and worked with Fred Hoyle on radar at the Admiralty Signals Establishment. He became a British subject in 1946, Bondi lectured in mathematics at the University of Cambridge from 1945 to 1954. Steady State theory was eclipsed by the rival Big Bang theory with the discovery of the microwave background. A1947 paper revived interest in the Lemaître–Tolman metric, an inhomogeneous and he became a professor at Kings College London in 1954, and was given the title of Emeritus Professor there in 1985. He was secretary of the Royal Astronomical Society from 1956 to 1964, Bondi was also active outside the confines of academic lecturing and research. He became a fellow of the Royal Society in 1959 and he made a series of television programs called E=mc2 for the BBC in 1963. He was appointed a Knight Commander of the Bath in 1973 and he was awarded an Honorary Degree by the University of Bath in 1974. His report into the flooding of London in 1953 led eventually to the building of the Thames Barrier and he also supported the proposal for a Severn Barrage to generate electricity, but this project was not carried forward. His papers from 1940 to 2000 are archived in 109 archive boxes by the Janus Project and his parents were Jewish, but he never felt the need for religion and was a lifelong humanist. He was president of the British Humanist Association from 1982 to 1999 and he was one of the signers of the Humanist Manifesto. He married Christine Stockman, also a mathematician and astronomer, in 1947, she had one of Hoyles research students. Together, they had two sons and three daughters, one of whom is Professor Liz Bondi, feminist geographer at the University of Edinburgh and he died in Cambridge in 2005, aged 85. and his ashes were scattered at Anglesey Abbey near Cambridge
Hermann Bondi
–
Sir Hermann Bondi
16.
North Sea flood of 1953
–
The 1953 North Sea flood was a major flood caused by a heavy storm that occurred on the night of Saturday,31 January 1953 and morning of Sunday,1 February 1953. The floods struck the Netherlands, Belgium, England and Scotland, the flood and waves overwhelmed sea defences and caused extensive flooding. Most of the casualties occurred in the province of Zeeland. In England,307 people were killed in the counties of Lincolnshire, Norfolk, Suffolk, twenty-eight people were killed in West Flanders, Belgium. In addition, more than 230 deaths occurred on water craft along Northern European coasts as well as on ships in waters of the North Sea. The ferry MV Princess Victoria was lost at sea in the North Channel east of Belfast with 133 fatalities, realising that such infrequent events could recur, the Netherlands particularly, and the United Kingdom carried out major studies on strengthening of coastal defences. The Netherlands developed the Delta Works, a system of dams. The UK constructed storm surge barriers on the River Thames below London and on the River Hull where it meets the Humber estuary. On the night of 31 January –1 February 1953, many dykes in the provinces of Zeeland, South Holland and North Brabant proved unable to resist the combination of spring tide, on both the islands and the mainland, large areas of country were flooded. Many people still commemorate the dead on 1 February, at the time of the flood, none of the local radio stations broadcast at night, and many of the smaller weather stations operated only during the day. As a result, the warnings of the KNMI did not penetrate the area in time. People were unable to prepare for the impending flood, as the disaster struck on a Saturday night, many government and emergency offices in the affected area were not staffed. As telephone and telegraph networks were disrupted by flood damage, within hours amateur radio operators went into the areas with their equipment to form a voluntary emergency radio network. Large parts of South Holland, Zeeland and North Brabant were inundated, in North Holland only one polder was flooded. The most extensive flooding occurred on the islands of Schouwen-Duiveland, Tholen, Sint Philipsland, Goeree-Overflakkee, the highest death tolls were recorded on the islands of Schouwen-Duiveland and Goeree-Overflakkee. Afterward, the government formed the Delta Commission to study the causes and they estimated that flooding killed 1,835 people and forced the emergency evacuation of 70,000 more. Floods covered 9% of Dutch farmland, and sea water flooded 1,365 km² of land, an estimated 30,000 animals drowned, and 47,300 buildings were damaged, of which 10,000 were destroyed. Total damage is estimated at 1 billion Dutch guilders, the Schielands Hoge Zeedijk along the river Hollandse IJssel was all that protected three million people in the provinces of South and North Holland from flooding
North Sea flood of 1953
–
Aftermath of the flood in
Oude-Tonge,
Goeree-Overflakkee, Netherlands
North Sea flood of 1953
–
Een
dubbeltje op zijn kant " ("A dubbeltje (small coin) on its edge", meaning "A narrow escape"), a sculpture by Roel Bendijk of de Twee Gebroeders in the Groenedijk
North Sea flood of 1953
–
A breach at
Erith after the 1953 flood
North Sea flood of 1953
–
Historical
17.
Greater London Council
–
The Greater London Council was the top-tier local government administrative body for Greater London from 1965 to 1986. It replaced the earlier London County Council which had covered a smaller area. The GLC was dissolved in 1986 by the Local Government Act 1985 and its powers were devolved to the London boroughs, a new administrative body, known as the Greater London Authority, was established in 2000. It further recommended that the LCC be replaced by a strategic authority, with responsibility for public transport, road schemes, housing development. Most of the Commission’s recommendations were accepted, but the number of new boroughs was reduced to 32, other areas recommended for inclusion that were never part of Greater London included Epsom and Ewell, Caterham and Warlingham, Esher, and Weybridge. GLC councillors elected for areas within the former County of London became ex officio members of the new Inner London Education Authority, the GLC was responsible for running strategic services such as the fire service, emergency planning, waste disposal and flood prevention. The GLC shared responsibility with the London boroughs for providing roads, housing, city planning and it had a very limited role in direct service provision with most functions the responsibility of the London boroughs. The GLC did not take control of transport from the London Transport Board until 1970. Under the 1963 Act, the GLC was required to produce a Greater London Development Plan, the plan included the comprehensive redevelopment of Covent Garden and creating a central London motorway loop. The plan was subject to an Inquiry which lasted from July 1970 until May 1972, the campaign to save Covent Garden along with various opposition on other matters largely derailed the plan. Each of the six GLC elections was won by the national opposition party. The first GLC election was on 9 April 1964, each of the new boroughs elected a number of representatives under the bloc vote system. Despite Conservative hopes, the first GLC consisted of 64 Labour and 36 Conservative councillors, at the next election in 1967 the unpopularity of the national Labour government produced a massive Conservative victory with 82 seats, to Labours 18. Desmond Plummer became the first Conservative leader of London-wide government in 33 years, the Conservatives retained control in 1970 with a reduced majority. In 1972 the electoral system was reformed to introduce single-member constituencies for the election after the 1973 contest, Labour fought the 1973 election on a strongly socialist platform and won with 57 seats to 33 for the Conservatives. The GLCs hopes under the Labour administration of Reg Goodwin were badly affected by the oil crisis of 1974, massive inflation which when combined with the GLCs £1.6 billion debt led to heavy rate increases and unpopular budget cuts. Some months before the 1977 elections the Labour Group began to split, a left group, including Ken Livingstone, denounced the election manifesto of the party. The Conservatives regained control in May 1977, winning 64 seats under their new Thatcherite leader Horace Cutler against a Labour total of just 28, Cutler headed a resolutely right-wing administration, cutting spending, selling council housing and deprioritising London Transport
Greater London Council
–
Greater London Council
Greater London Council
–
Council Chamber of the GLC, from the majority benches
Greater London Council
18.
Costain Group
–
Costain Group plc is a British construction and civil engineering company headquartered in Maidenhead. It was part of the original Channel Tunnel consortium and is involved in Private Finance Initiative projects, the business was founded in 1865 when Richard Costain and his future brother-in-law, Richard Kneen, left the Isle of Man and moved to Liverpool as jobbing builders. The partnership lasted until 1888 when Richard Kneen left and Richard Costains three sons joined him, by the time of the First War, Costain had expanded through Lancashire and into south Wales where it built houses for munitions workers. After the First World War, Costain began to develop housing estates in Liverpool on its own account, with housing sites in Liverpool in short supply, Richard Costain sent his son William down to London to find new sites. He purchased the Walton Heath Land Company and in 1923 the separate business of Richard Costain & Sons was formed, several executive estates in the Croydon area were developed in the mid-1920s. In 1929 William died, the two brothers remained in Liverpool and William’s son, Richard Rylands Costain, was sent to run the London Company. Under him, Richard Costain & Sons expanded its housing building large estates all around London, perhaps the best-known development of all was Dolphin Square completed in 1937. In 1933 the London-based Richard Costain was floated on the London Stock Exchange, by then, Costain had completed over 4,000 houses in the London area, some at prices up to £4,000. Costain continued to expand its private housebuilding and it was described as one of the largest speculative housebuilders, following the flotation, Costain moved into civil engineering and worked first on the Trans-Iranian Railway and then at Abadan, Iran for BP. The Second War saw Costain carrying out extensive military work including airfields and ordnance factories, some small estate development was undertaken but it was not until the acquisition of the Rostance Group of Nottingham in 1962 that private housebuilding resumed on any scale. Helped also by the acquisition of the Blackpool firm of R Fielding in 1969, the substantially increased revenues that accrued to the oil-producing states led to a construction boom in the middle east in the 1970s. Costain was a beneficiary, particularly in the Emirates. In the face of such overseas largesse, domestic housing activity declined, however, over-expansion in the late 1980s led to high gearing just as international markets were turning down, problems exacerbated by a disaster in Costain’s American coal mine. Substantial losses were incurred in the early 1990s and asset sales followed leaving Costain as a predominantly construction-oriented business, at a dramatic low-point in 1995, the demise of Costain was predicted - incorrectly - by broadsheets in the UK. It was not expected to survive as a company by the end of the century. Costains activities are organised into two operating divisions, Natural Resources, Infrastructure, Costain is also involved in the redevelopment of Bond Street Station due for completion in 2017. Costain was revealed as a subscriber to the UKs Consulting Association, exposed in 2009 for operating an illegal construction industry blacklist
Costain Group
–
The
Tsing Ma Bridge built by a Joint Venture involving Costain
Costain Group
–
Costain Group plc
19.
Tarmac Limited
–
Tarmac is a British building materials company headquartered in Solihull, Birmingham. The company was formed as Lafarge Tarmac in March 2013 by the merger of Anglo Americans Tarmac UK, in July 2014, Anglo American agreed to sell its stake to Lafarge, to assist Lafarge in its merger with Holcim and allay competition concerns. Prior to 1999 Tarmac Plc was an aggregates to construction company dating from 1903 and it was demerged in 1999 with the Construction and Professional services arms forming Carillion plc. The aggregates and building side of the business retained the Tarmac name and was bought by Anglo American shortly afterwards. In February 2015, Lafarge announced that the business would be sold to CRH plc, Anglo American completed the sale in July 2015, and the acquisition by CRH completed the following month. Following the purchase, Lafarge Tarmac was rebranded as Tarmac, in February 2011 Anglo American and Lafarge announced their intention to merge their British construction materials businesses, excluding Lafarges UK gypsum activities. The deal was set to combine Anglo Americans Tarmac UK unit, employing 4,500 people, with Lafarges cement, concrete and aggregate quarries, depots, in November 2012, Lafarge and Anglo American agreed to the sale of £285 million worth of British assets to Mittal Investments. In December of that year, Anglo Americans Tarmac unit became Hope Ready Mixed Concrete Limited, the deal was completed in January 2013 with the creation of Hope Construction Materials. The merger was completed in March 2013 following receipt of necessary approvals from the Competition Commission, Lafarge Tarmac bought Tarmac Building Products from Anglo American in April 2014. Also in April 2014, Lafarge announced it was merging with Switzerland-based cement giant Holcim Ltd. to form the worlds largest cement producer, LafargeHolcim. Three months later, in July 2014, Anglo American advised it was selling its 50% interest to Lafarge SA for £885 million, in February 2015, Lafarge announced it had reached an agreement to sell the company to CRH plc, with the exception of its Cauldon cement plant. Anglo American sold its 50% stake to Lafarge first, for £992 million, CRH completed the purchase in August 2015
Tarmac Limited
–
Tarmac Holdings Limited
20.
River Tees
–
The River Tees is in northern England. It rises on the slope of Cross Fell in the North Pennines. The river drains 710 square miles and has a number of tributaries including the River Greta, River Lune, River Balder, River Leven, before the reorganisation of the historic English counties, the river formed the boundary between County Durham and Yorkshire. The head of the valley, whose upper portion is known as Teesdale, has a grandeur, surrounded by moorland and hills. This area is part of the North Pennine Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the source of the river at Teeshead just below Cross Fell lies at an elevation of approximately 2,401 feet. It flows east-north-east through an area of shake holes through Carboniferous Limestone, below Viewing Hill, it turns south to the Cow Green Reservoir constructed to store water to be released in dry conditions to satisfy the industrial need for water on Teesside. Emerging from the reservoir at Cauldron Snout the river traverses a series of black basalt and dolerite rocks that intrude through the softer limestone. From this point downstream the Tees forms the boundary between the counties of Durham and Yorkshire almost without a break, although since 1974 much of it lies wholly in Durham. The dale widens below Cauldron Snout, and trees appear, contrasting with the rocks where the water descends over High Force. After a short turn northwards, the continues to meander south-easterly. Close to where the B6277 road begins to run parallel to the river is the 98-foot High Force waterfall, about 1 1⁄2 miles downstream is the smaller Low Force waterfall. The scenery becomes gentler and more picturesque as the river descends past Middleton-in-Teesdale and this locality has lead and ironstone resources. Just to the east of Middleton-in-Teesdale, the River Lune joins the Tees, after passing the village of Romaldkirk to the west, the river is joined by the River Balder at Cotherstone. The ancient town of Barnard Castle, Egglestone Abbey, and Rokeby Park, at Rokeby the Tees is joined by the River Greta. From the area near Eggleston, the river is crossing over millstone grit, from here the valley begins to open out, and traverses the rich plain east and south of Darlington in large meandering curves. The course of the valley down to here has been generally east-south-east, passing Ovington and Winston it runs parallel to the A67 south-east past Gainford and Piercebridge to Darlington, passing under the A1 and A66. The section from Piercebridge to Hurworth flows over magnesian limestone and it is at Croft-on-Tees that the River Skerne joins the Tees. The river now flows south past Croft-on-Tees before swinging northwards past Hurworth-on-Tees, a series of large meanders takes the course past Neasham, Low Dinsdale and Sockburn to Middleton St George
River Tees
–
High Force on the River Tees
River Tees
–
The
confluence of the
River Greta and the River Tees
River Tees
–
The River Tees (Portrack Cut) passing through the Green-Blue Heart of the Tees Corridor between
Middlesbrough and
Stockton District.
21.
Elizabeth II
–
Elizabeth II has been Queen of the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand since 6 February 1952. Elizabeth was born in London as the eldest child of the Duke and Duchess of York, later King George VI and Queen Elizabeth and her father acceded to the throne on the abdication of his brother Edward VIII in 1936, from which time she was the heir presumptive. She began to undertake duties during the Second World War. Elizabeths many historic visits and meetings include a visit to the Republic of Ireland. She has seen major changes, such as devolution in the United Kingdom, Canadian patriation. She has reigned through various wars and conflicts involving many of her realms and she is the worlds oldest reigning monarch as well as Britains longest-lived. In October 2016, she became the longest currently reigning monarch, in 2017 she became the first British monarch to commemorate a Sapphire Jubilee. Elizabeth has occasionally faced republican sentiments and press criticism of the family, however, support for the monarchy remains high. Elizabeth was born at 02,40 on 21 April 1926, during the reign of her paternal grandfather and her father, Prince Albert, Duke of York, was the second son of the King. Her mother, Elizabeth, Duchess of York, was the youngest daughter of Scottish aristocrat Claude Bowes-Lyon, 14th Earl of Strathmore and she was delivered by Caesarean section at her maternal grandfathers London house,17 Bruton Street, Mayfair. Elizabeths only sibling, Princess Margaret, was born in 1930, the two princesses were educated at home under the supervision of their mother and their governess, Marion Crawford, who was casually known as Crawfie. Lessons concentrated on history, language, literature and music, Crawford published a biography of Elizabeth and Margarets childhood years entitled The Little Princesses in 1950, much to the dismay of the royal family. The book describes Elizabeths love of horses and dogs, her orderliness, others echoed such observations, Winston Churchill described Elizabeth when she was two as a character. She has an air of authority and reflectiveness astonishing in an infant and her cousin Margaret Rhodes described her as a jolly little girl, but fundamentally sensible and well-behaved. During her grandfathers reign, Elizabeth was third in the line of succession to the throne, behind her uncle Edward, Prince of Wales, and her father, the Duke of York. Although her birth generated public interest, she was not expected to become queen, many people believed that he would marry and have children of his own. When her grandfather died in 1936 and her uncle succeeded as Edward VIII, she became second-in-line to the throne, later that year, Edward abdicated, after his proposed marriage to divorced socialite Wallis Simpson provoked a constitutional crisis. Consequently, Elizabeths father became king, and she became heir presumptive, if her parents had had a later son, she would have lost her position as first-in-line, as her brother would have been heir apparent and above her in the line of succession
Elizabeth II
–
The Queen in March 2015
Elizabeth II
–
Princess Elizabeth aged 3, April 1929
Elizabeth II
–
Princess Elizabeth aged 7, painted by
Philip de László, 1933
Elizabeth II
–
Elizabeth in
Auxiliary Territorial Service uniform, April 1945
22.
Circular segment
–
In geometry, a circular segment is a region of a circle which is cut off from the rest of the circle by a secant or a chord. More formally, a segment is a region of two-dimensional space that is bounded by an arc of a circle. The angle thus inscribed is θ/2 and is part of a triangle whose hypotenuse is the diameter. This is also useful in deriving some of the forms below. The area formula can be used in calculating the volume of a cylindrical tank. In the design of windows or doors with rounded tops, c and h may be the known values. Spherical segment Conic section Cross section Weisstein, Eric W. Circular segment, definition of a circular segment With interactive animation Formulae for area of a circular segment With interactive animation
Circular segment
–
A circular segment (in green) is enclosed between a secant/chord (the dashed line) and the arc whose endpoints equal the chord's (the arc shown above the green area).
23.
Tonne
–
The SI symbol for the tonne is t, adopted at the same time as the unit itself in 1879. Its use is also official, for the metric ton, within the United States, having been adopted by the US National Institute of Standards and it is a symbol, not an abbreviation, and should not be followed by a period. Informal and non-approved symbols or abbreviations include T, mT, MT, in French and all English-speaking countries that are predominantly metric, tonne is the correct spelling. Before metrication in the UK the unit used for most purposes was the Imperial ton of 2,240 pounds avoirdupois, equivalent to 1,016 kg, differing by just 1. 6% from the tonne. Ton and tonne are both derived from a Germanic word in use in the North Sea area since the Middle Ages to designate a large cask. A full tun, standing about a high, could easily weigh a tonne. An English tun of wine weighs roughly a tonne,954 kg if full of water, in the United States, the unit was originally referred to using the French words millier or tonneau, but these terms are now obsolete. The Imperial and US customary units comparable to the tonne are both spelled ton in English, though they differ in mass, one tonne is equivalent to, Metric/SI,1 megagram. Equal to 1000000 grams or 1000 kilograms, megagram, Mg, is the official SI unit. Mg is distinct from mg, milligram, pounds, Exactly 1000/0. 453 592 37 lb, or approximately 2204.622622 lb. US/Short tons, Exactly 1/0. 907 184 74 short tons, or approximately 1.102311311 ST. One short ton is exactly 0.90718474 t, imperial/Long tons, Exactly 1/1. 016 046 9088 long tons, or approximately 0.9842065276 LT. One long ton is exactly 1.0160469088 t, for multiples of the tonne, it is more usual to speak of thousands or millions of tonnes. Kilotonne, megatonne, and gigatonne are more used for the energy of nuclear explosions and other events. When used in context, there is little need to distinguish between metric and other tons, and the unit is spelt either as ton or tonne with the relevant prefix attached. *The equivalent units columns use the short scale large-number naming system used in most English-language countries. †Values in the equivalent short and long tons columns are rounded to five significant figures, ǂThough non-standard, the symbol kt is also sometimes used for knot, a unit of speed for sea-going vessels, and should not be confused with kilotonne. A metric ton unit can mean 10 kilograms within metal trading and it traditionally referred to a metric ton of ore containing 1% of metal. In the case of uranium, the acronym MTU is sometimes considered to be metric ton of uranium, in the petroleum industry the tonne of oil equivalent is a unit of energy, the amount of energy released by burning one tonne of crude oil, approximately 42 GJ
Tonne
–
Base units
24.
Tidal limit
–
Head of tide or tidal limit is the farthest point upstream where a river is affected by tidal fluctuations, or where the fluctuations are less than a certain amount. This applies to rivers which flow into tidal bodies such as oceans, bays, though this point may vary due to storms, spring tides, and seasonal or annual differences in water flows, there is generally an average point which is accepted as the head of tide. A rivers tidal data are recorded at various locations downstream of this point, a rivers head of tide may be considered the upper boundary of its estuary. The head of tide is important in surveying, navigation, and fisheries management, as the head of tide is useful for navigation, separate maps can be made of the tidal zones up to the head of tide, such as was done in New Jersey. The head of tide may be many miles upstream from the rivers mouth, for example, on the Hudson River, it is located 140 miles upstream, near Albany, New York. On the Saint Lawrence River, tides affect shipping upstream past Quebec City, which is located several hundred miles inland from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, tidal bore tidal river The Tideway
Tidal limit
–
Cromwell Weir marks the tidal limit of the
River Trent, a major river in
England
25.
Teddington Lock
–
Teddington Lock is a complex of three locks and a weir on the River Thames in England at Ham in south west London. The lock is on the side of the river. The river downstream of the lock, known as the Tideway, is tidal, though Teddington marks the tidal limit, in periods of very high fluvial flow the tidal influence can be seen as far upstream as East Molesey, location of the second lock on the Thames. The Teddington lock complex consists of three locks, a launch lock, a very large barge lock and a small skiff lock. The barge lock has a set of gates in the middle so it can operate in two sizes. The large bow shaped weir stretches across to Teddington from an island upstream of the lock which also acts as the point for the two bridges making up Teddington Lock Footbridge. Stephen Leach took over the post of Clerk of Works for the First District in 1802, just before his retirement, Truss has proposed locks at Molesey and Teddington, each having a weir with long tumbling bays, similar to modern practice. John Rennie had suggested a series of cuts in 1794. Rennie and William Jessop again proposed four long cuts in 1805, each about 1.5 miles long, zacchary Allnutt, by then Surveyor for the Second and Third Districts, stretching from Staines to Mapledurham, suggested locks at Chertsey, Sunbury and Teddington in 1805. Rennie submitted new proposals in 1809, with nine locks between Staines and Twickenham, two would be without weirs, while the other seven would require large weirs to be built in the river. An Act of Parliament was obtained by the City of London Corporation in June 1810, each would be 150 by 20 feet with the associated weir having ample capacity for flood conditions. Rennie, Leach and the Navigation Committee visited the sites in July, Leach then took charge of the work, which was undertaken by contractors Joseph Kimber and John Dows who also built Sunbury Lock. Work at Teddington started in September 1810, but there were delays caused by flooding in November and December, the lock was finished and opened in June 1811, but the weir was incomplete. The lock was further upstream than the present lock complex at the point where the footbridge now crosses and it comprised three pairs of gates as stipulated in the act. Total cost for lock, cut, weir, ballast and ground was £22,035 10s, 7 1⁄2d. of which the land from Lord Dysarts estate cost £282 10s. The lock was, at first, highly unpopular with the fishermen and bargemen. After attempts to smash it, the keeper was granted permission to keep a blunderbuss with bayonet attached thereto to ward off attacks on the lock. By 1827 the timber lock needed considerable repair and in 1829 the weir was destroyed by an accumulation of ice and it is noted that in 1843 the lock-keeper prevented a steam vessel from coming through the lock
Teddington Lock
–
Teddington Lock undergoing maintenance. From left to right - rollers, skiff lock, launch lock and barge lock
Teddington Lock
–
Barrage at Teddington Lock
Teddington Lock
–
Kingston from the river
Teddington Lock
–
Scullers, skiffs and
Thames Raters at Raven's Ait on one of the most active stretches of the river
26.
Normal Tidal Limit
–
Head of tide or tidal limit is the farthest point upstream where a river is affected by tidal fluctuations, or where the fluctuations are less than a certain amount. This applies to rivers which flow into tidal bodies such as oceans, bays, though this point may vary due to storms, spring tides, and seasonal or annual differences in water flows, there is generally an average point which is accepted as the head of tide. A rivers tidal data are recorded at various locations downstream of this point, a rivers head of tide may be considered the upper boundary of its estuary. The head of tide is important in surveying, navigation, and fisheries management, as the head of tide is useful for navigation, separate maps can be made of the tidal zones up to the head of tide, such as was done in New Jersey. The head of tide may be many miles upstream from the rivers mouth, for example, on the Hudson River, it is located 140 miles upstream, near Albany, New York. On the Saint Lawrence River, tides affect shipping upstream past Quebec City, which is located several hundred miles inland from the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, tidal bore tidal river The Tideway
Normal Tidal Limit
–
Cromwell Weir marks the tidal limit of the
River Trent, a major river in
England
27.
East Molesey
–
Molesey /ˈmoʊl. ziː/ is a suburban district comprising two large villages, East Molesey and West Molesey, just outside the edge of Greater London. Molesey lies between 11.7 and 13.5 miles from Charing Cross and forms part of the contiguous suburbs within the Greater London Urban Area. It has the London dialling code, and was from 1839 until 2000 under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan Police, Molesey Hurst or Hurst Park is a large park by the River Thames in the north of the area, and is home to East Molesey Cricket Club. The Hampton Ferry runs from here to Hampton on the Middlesex bank, Molesey is divided into three wards of the United Kingdom, Molesey South, East and North. The majority of Moleseys detached properties are in the east, which contains the highest proportion of apartments of the three wards. The earliest documentary evidence of a settlement in Molesey appears in a 7th-century charter and he secured from Frithwald, sub-king of Surrey, a charter endowing the abbey with much of the surrounding land, including Muleseg. Etymologists suggest that the name is derived from the personal name Mul compounded with the Old English word eg. Therefore, Molesey is not, as believed, named after the River Mole that runs through it. The prefixes East and West did not appear until about the year 1200, Molesey lay within the Saxon administrative district of Elmbridge hundred. East Molesey appears in Domesday Book of 1086 as Molesham and it was held partly by John from Richard Fitz Gilbert and partly by Roger dAbernon. Its Domesday assets were,2 hides and 3 virgates and it had 7 ploughs,2 oxen, and 32 acres of meadow and woodland worth 10 hogs. West Molesey was held by Odard Balistarius and its Domesday assets were,1 hide,1 church, and 5 ploughs. Along with neighbouring Thames Ditton, East Molesey formed a part of the ancient parish of Kingston upon Thames, in 1974, the district eventually merged with its neighbour to the west, Walton and Weybridge Urban District, to form the new borough of Elmbridge within Surrey. Molesey was one of the villages and towns along the Thames valley affected by flooding in 1968. Some barriers and overflow fields have been created since then by the Environment Agency, Molesey is directly south of the River Thames, with several large reservoirs bordering the town to the west and south that provide water within the London Basin. Some of these are now disused and are being converted into nature reserves, to the west lie Bessborough Reservoir and Knight Reservoir, to the north-west Molesey Reservoirs, to the south Island Barn Reservoir, and to the south-west Queen Elizabeth II Reservoir. There are walks beside Metropolitan green belt fields to the south along the river Mole to Esher, Hampton Court Palace is immediately north-east of East Molesey across Hampton Court Bridge. The Palace, together with the part of Bushy Park
East Molesey
–
The one-way retail/dining and bar-lined street of East Molesey (Bridge Road) near
Hampton Court Palace. This road is on the old alignment of
Hampton Court Bridge before it was rebuilt by Surrey and Middlesex county councils, employing
Edwin Lutyens.
East Molesey
–
Hampton Court Bridge and East Molesey Riverbank
28.
Met Office
–
The Met Office is the United Kingdoms national weather service. It is an agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy led by CEO, Rob Varley and chief scientist. The Met Office makes meteorological predictions across all timescales from weather forecasts to climate change, the Met Office was established in 1854 as a small department within the Board of Trade under Vice-Admiral Robert FitzRoy as a service to mariners. The loss of the vessel, the Royal Charter, and 459 lives off the coast of Anglesey in a violent storm in October 1859 led to the first gale warning service. FitzRoy established a network of 15 coastal stations from which visual gale warnings could be provided for ships at sea, the new electric telegraph enabled rapid dissemination of warnings and also led to the development of an observational network which could then be used to provide synoptic analysis. The Met Office started in 1861 to provide forecasts to newspapers. Publication of forecasts ceased in May 1866 after FitzRoy’s death but recommenced in April 1879, in 1936 the Met Office split with services to the Royal Navy being provided by its own forecasting services. It became an agency of the Ministry of Defence in April 1990. It has a worldwide presence – including a centre in Aberdeen. Royal Navy weather forecasts are provided by naval officers, not Met Office personnel. The Shipping Forecast is produced by the Met Office and broadcast on BBC Radio 4, the Met Office issues Severe Weather Warnings for the United Kingdom through the National Severe Weather Warning Service. These warn of events that may affect transport infrastructure and endanger peoples lives. In March 2008, the system was improved and a new stage of warning was introduced, on 10 November, the first named storm was Abigail. The principal weather products for UK customers are 36-hour forecasts from the operational 1, the Met Offices Global Model forecast has consistently been in the top 3 for global weather forecast performance in independent verification to WMO standards. Products for other regions of the globe are sold to customers abroad, if necessary, forecasters may make adjustments to the computer forecasts. Data is stored in the Met Offices own PP-format, formed in 2009, the Flood Forecasting Centre is a joint venture between the Environment Agency and the Met Office to provide flood risk guidance for England and Wales. The Centre is jointly staffed from both parent organisations and is based in the Operations Centre at the Met Office headquarters in Exeter, in Scotland this role is performed by the Scottish Flood Forecasting Service, a joint venture between the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and the Met Office. The Met Office makes seasonal forecasts and distributes them to customers and users globally, Met Office research has broken new ground in seasonal forecasting for the extratropics and has demonstrated its abilities in its seasonal predictions of the North Atlantic Oscillation
Met Office
–
Former Met Office building in Bracknell, Berkshire before relocation to Exeter, since demolished
Met Office
–
Logo of the Met Office (at 2009)
Met Office
–
The 2003 headquarters building on the edge of Exeter
Met Office
–
FAAM BAe146-300 takes off at
RIAT,
RAF Fairford, England
29.
Thames Tideway
–
The Tideway is the part of the River Thames in England that is subject to tides. This stretch of water is downstream from Teddington Lock and in its widest definition is just under 160 kilometres long, the Tideway includes the Thames Estuary, the Thames Gateway and the Pool of London. London Bridge is used as the basis for published tide tables giving the times of high tide, high tide reaches Putney about 30 minutes later. Low-lying banks of London have been defended against natural vulnerability to flooding by storm surges, the Thames Barrier was constructed across the Thames at Woolwich to deal with this threat. The Tideway is managed by the Port of London Authority and is referred to as the Port of London. The upstream limit of its authority is marked by an obelisk just short of Teddington Lock, the PLA is responsible for one lock on the Thames, Richmond Lock. In London, the Thames is policed by the Thames Division, essex Police and Kent Police have responsibilities for the rest of the Tideway. 21st century criminal investigations have included the Roberto Calvi and Torso in the Thames cases, the London Fire Brigade has a fire boat on the river. As a result, there are four stations on the Thames, at, Teddington, Chiswick Pier, Tower Pier. The river is navigable to large ocean-going ships as far as the Pool of London at London Bridge and is the United Kingdoms second largest port by tonnage. Most trade is handled by the Port of Tilbury, ro-ro ferry terminals at Dagenham and Dartford, there is a speed limit of 8 knots west of Wandsworth Bridge and in tributary creeks, and except for authorised vehicles,12 knots between Wandsworth Bridge and Margaretness. The tidal river is used for leisure navigation and this section is not suitable for sporting activity because of the strong stream through the bridges. Rowing has a significant presence upstream of Putney Bridge, while sailing takes place in the same area, the annual Great River Race for traditional rowed craft takes place over the stretch from Greenwich to Ham. Thames meander challenges along the length of the Thames from Lechlade often pass through the London sections and finish well downstream, the Grand Union Canal joins the river at Brentford, with a branch – the Regents Canal – joining at Limehouse Basin. The other part of the network still connecting on the Tideway is the River Lea Navigation. Narrow low-lying belts beside the tidal section of the Thames regularly flood at spring tides, one such example exists at Chiswick Lane South, where the river, as pictured, overflows this road a few times per year. Although water quality has improved over the last 40 years and efforts to clean up the Tideway have led to the reintroduction of marine life and birds, the environment of the Tideway is still poor. Heavier rainfall in London causes overflows from pipes on the banks from the standard type of sewer in the capital
Thames Tideway
–
Teddington Weir marks the start of the Tideway.
Thames Tideway
–
A Fast Response Targa 31 boat of the Marine Support Unit of the Metropolitan Police
Thames Tideway
–
RNLI E class lifeboat based at Chiswick Pier performing a rescue
Thames Tideway
–
River traffic around Waterloo Pier in 2008
30.
Barking Barrier
–
Barking Creek joins the River Roding to the River Thames. It is fully tidal up to the Barking Barrage, which impounds a minimum water level through Barking in Barking, there is a tidal/flood barrier on Barking Creek which is part of the Thames flood defence system. Like all of the gates, it is normally closed before, and opened after. In the 1850s, the creek was home to Englands largest fishing fleet, Barking Creek contains a small number of house boats, and Creekmouth is nearby. Battle of Barking Creek, a fire incident at the start of WW2 RAF Hornchurch Barking Flood Barrier
Barking Barrier
–
The Barking Creek tidal barrier where Barking Creek joins the River Thames
31.
Tilbury Docks
–
The Port of Tilbury is located on the River Thames at Tilbury in Essex, England. It is the port for London, as well as being the main United Kingdom port for handling the importation of paper. There are extensive facilities for containers, grain, and other bulk cargoes, there are also facilities for the importation of cars. It forms part of the wider Port of London, the Port of Tilbury lies on the north shore of the River Thames,25 miles downstream of London Bridge, at a point where the river makes a loop southwards, and where its width narrows to 800 yards. The loop is part of the Thames lower reaches, within the meander was a area of marshland. Gravesend on the shore had long been a port of entry for shipping, all of which had used the river itself for loading and unloading of cargo. There was also a naval dockyard at Northfleet, the new deepwater docks were an extension of all that maritime activity. The original docks of London, all close to the City, were opened in stages by what was to become the East and West India Docks Company at the beginning of the 19th century. The Company had long been in competition with their rival, the London and St Katherine Dock Company, the E&WIDC were forced to retaliate. In 1882, an Act of Parliament allowed the latter to construct the docks at Tilbury, work began a fortnight later, and the first vessel to enter the docks was on 17 April 1886. The original docks consisted of a basin on Gravesend Reach opposite Northfleet. Between the tidal basin and Main Dock were two dry docks, in 1909 Tilbury, along with the upstream docks, became part of the newly established Port of London Authority. In 1921, and again in 1929, the PLA carried out major improvements. These included a new lock 1,000 feet long and 110 ft wide, linking the docks directly to the Thames to the west at Northfleet Hope, and these works were carried out by Sir Robert McAlpine. During the 1960s, at the time when the docks were closing. Between 1963–1966 a huge fourth branch dock, running north from Main Dock for nearly 1 mile, was constructed, the tidal basin was closed and eventually filled in. In 1969 a £6M riverside grain terminal on Northfleet Hope was brought into use, by the early 1980s Tilbury was the last set of enclosed docks in operation by the PLA. The PLA funded a new container port which opened in 1967
Tilbury Docks
–
Container ship Carpathia unloading at Northfleet Hope terminal
Tilbury Docks
–
Ship discharging at Tilbury Grain Terminal
32.
Canvey Island
–
Canvey Island is a civil parish and reclaimed island in the Thames estuary in Essex, England. It has an area of 7.12 square miles and a population of 38,170 and it is separated from the mainland of south Essex by a network of creeks. Lying only just above sea level it is prone to flooding at exceptional tides, the island was mainly agricultural land until the 20th century when it became the fastest growing seaside resort in Britain between 1911 and 1951. The North Sea flood of 1953 devastated the island, killing 58 islanders, Canvey is consequently protected by modern sea defences comprising 2 miles of concrete sea walls. Canvey is also notable for its relationship to the petrochemical industry, excavations on Canvey have unearthed a collection of early man-made objects comprising axes from the Neolithic era, a bracelet dating from the Bronze Age, and Iron Age pottery. However, the remains of Roman structures and objects suggests the first settlement of Canvey occurred between 50 and 250 AD, the remains point to a community existing with a farmstead, a garrison, a burial ground, and the operation of a large salt-making industry. In 1607 the Elizabethan antiquarian William Camden noted in his work Britannia that Canvey Island was documented in the 2nd century by the Alexandrian geographer Ptolemy, in his work Geographia Ptolemy mentions a headland in the mouth of the Thames to the east of the Trinovantes region called Counus Island. MacBean and Johnson, 18th century historians contend Counus Island would have existed much further out to sea, the settlement and agricultural development of Essex by the Saxons from the 5th century saw the introduction of sheep-farming which would dominate the islands industry until the 20th century. Apart from the meat and wool produced from the sheep, the milk from the ewes was used for cheese-making, the abundance in later centuries would see the cheeses become a commodity taken for sale at the London markets, and at one stage exported via Calais to the continent. The existence of place names on modern Canvey using the wick suffix shows the influence of the early Saxon culture. Yearsley states the island has its name derived from the Anglo-Saxon Caningaege, the developments of the English language would lead to the more familiar name of Caneveye written in manorial records of 1254. The period of development often produced a confused use of such that comparative spellings would also include Canefe. By the 12th century, Essex and subsequently Canvey were in the possession of Henry de Essex who inherited the land from his grandfather, Swein, during the reign of Henry II the land was confiscated from de Essex and redistributed among the Kings favoured nobles. Two Tree Island to the north is also recognisable, if halved in length, Canas People were descendants of both Cantiaci and the Catuvellauni. If a boundary point, Counus would then be in tribal terms placed at the border of the Trinovantes on the eastern extent of the loose tribes also seen as the Tames. William Camden wrote of the island in 1607 that it was so low that it was often flooded, except the hills. In 1622, Sir Henry Appleton, and Canveys other landowners instigated a project to reclaim the land, the scheme was managed by an acquaintance of Appletons – Joas Croppenburg, a Dutch Haberdasher of Cheapside in London. An agreement was reached in 1623 which stipulated that in return for inning and recovering the island, a broad drainage ditch was dug inland off the area facing the river while smaller inlets were filled in
Canvey Island
–
Canvey Island and the surrounding environment
Canvey Island
–
Aerial view from the south east of Canvey Island
Canvey Island
–
Fragments of early marked pottery uncovered from Canvey Point.
Canvey Island
–
The Canvey group of islands in the 16th century as shown in the map of south east Essex by the
topographer John Norden in 1594.
33.
North Sea flood of 2007
–
Cyclone Tilo was preceded by the extratropical remains of ex-Hurricane Noel on 7 November, which paved the way for the stronger upstream storm Tilo. The jet stream was diverted to the north by a ridge of high pressure to the west of Ireland in the Atlantic Ocean forcing the jet stream over the north of Greenland. In combination with a tide, the tidal level was expected to exceed 3 metres above normal sea levels. The flood and waves were expected to overwhelm sea defences and cause flooding, in particular. However, in the event, the surge was 20 centimetres less than forecast. However, in the Norfolk village of Walcott, storms breached the sea wall, also, the water level came to just 10 cm below the top of the sea wall surrounding Great Yarmouth. Flood warnings were issued for the east coast of Britain and the entire Dutch coast, the Maeslantkering in the port city of Rotterdam was closed for the first time since its construction in 1997. Denmark and Germany issued severe gale warnings for winds gusts up to 125 km/h, oil platforms off the coast of Norway were also closed for the duration of the storm. Felixstowe docks were closed and trains services were suspended between Lowestoft and Norwich due to flooding of the line, in Scotland all schools in Orkney were closed with some closures also in Caithness and Sutherland. Wind gusts as high as 100 miles per hour were reported, the Northlink ferry company cancelled sailings between the Northern Isles. Caledonian MacBrayne also cancelled a dozen routes to the Western Isles,4000 homes lost power in Grampian, there were also reports of trees and roofs being blown down. A rescue tug was called on to stand by a 240-foot cargo ship struggling in the sea off Shetland, the A90 road was closed between Aberdeen and Peterhead after a lorry was blown over. A double-decker bus was blown off the road near Mintlaw in Aberdeenshire, there were also reports of a roof blown off in Fraserburgh. North Norfolk District Council were left seeking to apply for compensation from the governments Bellwin scheme for natural disasters, replacing damaged promenade handrails was estimated to cost £20,000, while council-owned beach chalets were estimated to cost more than £40,000 to mend. Inspections were also undertaken of the steel under Cromer pier, where waves had damaged the floor of the Pavilion Theatre, national Oceanography Centre movie model of surge Parker and Foden High-resolution Measurement of a North Sea Storm Surge. Storm Surge, Seaham, County Durham, YouTube
North Sea flood of 2007
–
Flooding in Bremerhaven
North Sea flood of 2007
–
Countries affected by 2007 North Sea Flood
North Sea flood of 2007
–
Northern dike Bremerhaven
North Sea flood of 2007
–
Weser dike Bremerhaven
34.
Marchioness disaster
–
The Marchioness disaster was a fatal collision between two vessels on the Thames in London on 20 August 1989, which resulted in the drowning of 51 people. The pleasure boat Marchioness sank after being pushed under by the dredger Bowbelle, a formal inquiry blamed poor lookouts on both vessels, and inadequate instruction of both crews. Four new lifeboat stations were installed on the river. The Marchioness was a steamer built in 1923 and was one of the little ships of Dunkirk in 1940. On 19 August 1989, the boat was hired for a party organised by photographer agent Jonathan Phang to celebrate the 26th birthday of Antonio de Vasconcellos, the pair were good friends and business partners in a photographic agency. Of Portuguese family background, Vasconcellos had studied Economics at Cambridge University, Phang organised a three-part celebration, an eight-person dinner in a flat on Meard Street, a birthday cake and champagne celebration for a group of 30 at the flat, and the party on the Marchioness. Many of those at the party were also in their twenties, some were former student friends, the Marchioness collided with the dredger Bowbelle in the early hours of 20 August 1989. In the initial instant of collision the anchor of the cut through the side of the Marchioness. As the Marchioness capsized, her entire superstructure became detached, the formal investigation put the time elapsed, from the instant of collision at 1,46 a. m. to complete immersion, at close to 30 seconds. Witnesses quoted in that investigation described the Bowbelle as hitting it in about its centre then it, of the dead,24 were recovered from the sunken hull. Most of the survivors were on the decks at the time of the collision. In 1991, the skipper of the Bowbelle, Douglas Henderson, was tried for failing to keep a proper look-out but, a Coroners inquest on 7 April 1995 found the victims had been unlawfully killed. Lord Clarkes report blamed poor lookouts on both vessels for the collision and criticised the owners and managers of both vessels for failing to instruct and monitor their crews in proper fashion. Also in 2001, the Royal Humane Society made 19 bravery awards to people involved in rescues at the Marchioness sinking, consequently, on 2 January 2002, the RNLI set up four lifeboat stations, at Gravesend, Tower Pier, Chiswick Pier and Teddington. Seven years after the disaster, the Bowbelle was also lost, having been sold to a Madeiran dredging company and renamed Bom Rei, she split in half and sank on 25 March 1996 off the coast of Ponta do Sol, Madeira. The Tubarao Madeira Diving Organisation discovered the six months after it sank. The wreck is still in good condition and offers refuge to a range of fish. After only a time, marine plants grew in abundance on the wreck
Marchioness disaster
–
Looking upstream to Cannon St railway bridge, scene of the disaster
Marchioness disaster
–
Memorial in Southwark Cathedral
35.
Dredger
–
Dredging is an excavation activity usually carried out underwater, in shallow seas or freshwater areas with the purpose of gathering up bottom sediments and disposing of them at a different location. This technique is used to keep waterways navigable. It is also used as a way to replenish sand on some public beaches, fishing dredges are used as a technique for catching certain species of edible clams and crabs. Capital, dredging carried out to create a new harbor, berth or waterway, preparatory, work and excavation for future bridges, piers or docks/wharves, often connected with foundation work. This is often carried out with a trailing suction hopper dredge, most dredging is for this purpose, and it may also be done to maintain the holding capacity of reservoirs or lakes. Land reclamation, dredging to mine sand, clay or rock from the seabed and this is typically performed by a cutter-suction dredge or trailing suction hopper dredge. The material may also be used for flood or erosion control, beach nourishment, mining sand offshore and placing on a beach to replace sand eroded by storms or wave action. This is done to enhance the recreational and protective function of the beaches and this is typically performed by a cutter-suction dredge or trailing suction hopper dredge. Harvesting materials, dredging sediment for elements like gold, diamonds or other valuable trace substances, seabed mining, a possible future use, recovering natural metal ore nodules from the seas abyssal plains. Construction materials, dredging sand and gravels from offshore licensed areas for use in construction industry, very specialist industry focused in NW Europe using specialized trailing suction hopper dredgers self discharging dry cargo ashore. Anti-eutrophication, Dredging is an option for the remediation of eutrophied water bodies. Contaminant remediation, to areas affected by chemical spills, storm water surges. Disposal becomes a large factor in these operations. Removing trash and debris, often done in combination with maintenance dredging, flood prevention, this can help to increase channel depth and therefore increase a channels capacity for carrying water. This tradition has now more or less obsolete and the tools used to do this have also changed significantly. Oyster dredging or harvesting, in Louisiana and other states with salt water estuaries that can sustain bottom oyster beds. A heavy metal rectangular scoop device is towed astern of a boat with a chain bridle attached to a cable. The device is periodically hauled aboard and the oysters in it are sorted and bagged for shipment to a processing facility
Dredger
–
The Geopotes 14 lifting its boom on a canal in The Netherlands. (gēopotēs is Greek for "that which drinks earth")
Dredger
–
A grab dredge
Dredger
–
Clamshell dredging in process in
Port Canaveral,
Florida
Dredger
–
Steam dredger Bertha, built 1844, on a demonstration run in 1982
36.
Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
–
The Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant was a parade on 3 June 2012 of 670 boats on the Tideway of the River Thames in London as part of the celebrations of the Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II. The Queen, Prince Philip and other members of the Royal Family were aboard vessels that took part in the parade, the parade was organised by the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, and funded by private donations and sponsorship. The pageant master was Adrian Evans, the vessels that took part included military, commercial, and pleasure craft. According to Guinness World Records, this was the largest ever parade of boats, surpassing the record of 327 vessels set in Bremerhaven, Germany. Sailing vessels and others too tall to pass under the bridges were moored as an Avenue of Sail downstream of London Bridge with smaller craft in St Katherine Docks, British media organisations estimated that one million spectators watched from the banks of the Thames. The pageant was broadcast live by the BBC and Sky News, more than 10 million tuned into the BBCs four-and-a-half-hour coverage, with an audience average of 10.3 million. The organisers of the pageant were the Thames Diamond Jubilee Foundation, chaired by Lord Salisbury, with Michael Lockett as the Chief Executive of the Pageant and Pageant Master, Adrian Evans. Other bodies involved in the organisation included the Port of London Authority, the RNLI, the Metropolitan Police, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency, the pageant was planned with inspiration from a painting by the 18th-century Venetian painter, Canaletto. The painting Lord Mayors Day on the Thames depicts a flotilla against a background of London, the painting was loaned for an exhibition at the National Maritime Museum, Greenwich from the Lobkowicz Collections, Prague. The pageant took a route from Wandsworth to Tower Bridge, the Thames was closed to normal navigation. The flotilla proceeded in sections preceded by Music Herald Barges, The Royal Jubilee Bells Man-powered boats Academy of Ancient Music The Royal Squadron, the royal barge was further decorated for the occasion with thousands of flowers and plants, and hung with drapery with the arms of Commonwealth countries. The Queen was attended by Lady Susan Hussey, her lady-in-waiting for more than 50 years, her deputy secretary, Edward Young, her equerry, Lieutenant Colonel Dan Rex. The Queen wore an ensemble designed by royal couturier Angela Kelly, comprising dress, coat, hat, the coat, which had a pleated frill at the front and neck, was of ivory boucle, decorated with gold, silver and ivory paillettes and Swarovski crystals. The matching hat had a cockade of feathers in gold, silver and ivory. Her jewels were the diamond starburst Jardine brooch, a pearl necklace. The Duchess of Cornwall wore an ensemble with sleeves decorated with gold paillettes, by Anna Valentine. Her jewellery was a pearl and diamond choker. She wore a brooch with two dolphins, a gift of the Royal Submarines, the Countess of Wessex wore a printed dress by Emilia Wickstead
Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
–
Hundreds of vessels pass Tower Bridge
Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
–
Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
–
Lady of Avenel (Netherlands)
Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant
–
Gondolas in the parade
37.
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
–
The Diamond Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II was a multinational celebration throughout 2012, that marked the 60th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. Queen Elizabeth is queen regnant of 16 sovereign states, known as Commonwealth realms, the only other time in British history that a monarch celebrated a Diamond Jubilee was in 1897, when Queen Victoria celebrated hers. Commemorative events were held throughout the Commonwealth of Nations, unlike the Queens Silver and Golden Jubilees, when the Queen toured most of her realms around the world, Elizabeth II and her husband Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, toured only the United Kingdom. Other parts of the Commonwealth were toured by her children and grandchildren as her representatives, the Canadian government announced in April that former prime minister Jean Chrétien would be Canadas representative to the organisation. The Queen attended the final night, on 18 May, the Queen hosted an informal lunch at Windsor Castle for more than twenty current or former monarchs from other countries. In the evening of the day, the Prince of Wales. Criticism was directed at the presence of the King of Bahrain at the lunch, in London, protesters against the King assembled outside Buckingham Palace during the dinner, although he did not attend that event. Google displayed a Google Doodle for the Diamond Jubilee on 2 June, featuring the Queens profile, corgis, heavy rain started during the event and the commemorative airforce flyover at the end was cancelled due to very low cloud base and bad visibility at ground level. Along with almost all members of the Royal Family, various governors-general from the Commonwealth realms other than the UK were in attendance, Pauls Cathedral, also attended by 2,000 other guests. Will Todd’s anthem The Call of Wisdom, commissioned specially for this event, was performed by the Diamond Choir, another reception was held at Londons Guildhall and a luncheon took place at Lancaster House, hosted by the British Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs. A reception solely for governors-general was held by the Queen at Buckingham Palace, the lighting of thousands of beacons across the Commonwealth took place on 4 June. The number of beacons was originally set at 2,012, by the date for registrations. The first beacon of the Jubilee was lit on the grounds of Apifoou College in Nukuʻalofa, Tonga, by Tongan girl and Boy Scouts using coconut sheath torches. Other nations, including Kenya, Australia, New Zealand, India, Seychelles, Sri Lanka, the worlds most remote beacon was lit in Tristan da Cunha in the south Atlantic, using invasive, non-native plants to fuel the fire. In the United Kingdom, British servicemen and women wounded in battle, one beacon was lit at Treetops Hotel in Aberdare National Park in Kenya, where the Queen was at the moment of her accession to the throne. The Queen lit the beacon outside Buckingham Palace at 10,30 pm, by inserting a large, specially made, the lighting proceeded until the final beacon was lit in Canada eight hours later. The Queens husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, was hospitalised with an infection on 4 June. Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, stated after visiting his father that the latter was watching the celebrations on television, the Queen visited the Duke the following day
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
–
Left to right, atop barge: (grouped at left)
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh;
Prince William, Duke of Cambridge;
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge;
Prince Harry; Queen
Elizabeth II; (grouped at right)
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall;
Charles, Prince of Wales, aboard the
MV Spirit of Chartwell during the Thames Diamond Jubilee Pageant on 3 June 2012
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
–
Queen Elizabeth II in her
coronation regalia, 2 June 1953 This file is a
candidate for speedy deletion. It may be deleted after Monday, 16 November 2015.
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
–
Queen Elizabeth II arriving at
St Paul's Cathedral for the service of thanksgiving on 5 June 2012
Diamond Jubilee of Elizabeth II
–
The
Parliament of Barbados, where the
Earl of Wessex read to a joint sitting of the legislature a message from
Elizabeth II,
Queen of Barbados, on 23 February 2012, to mark the Queen's diamond jubilee
38.
Thames Water
–
Thames Water is the UKs largest water and wastewater services company, and supplies 2.6 billion litres of drinking water per day, and treats 4.4 billion litres of wastewater per day. Thames Waters 15 million customers comprise 27% of the UK population, other large shareholders in recent years include, BT Pension Scheme, the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the China Investment Corporation. The name of the company reflects its role providing water to the basin of the River Thames and not the source of its water. In March 2017 a judge imposed a fine of £20. 3m on Thames Water after large leaks of untreated sewage, totalling 1. 4bn litres. Thames Water can trace its history back to earlier companies. During the 1850s, Dr John Snow and William Farrs identification of the 1854 Broad Street cholera outbreak provided a stimulus to the treatment of sewage. The Thames Conservancy was established in 1857 with unified control over supply, drainage. The Great Stink occurred in 1858, and focussed government and public opinion on cleaning up the Thames, joseph Bazalgettes remediation of The Great Stink provided the company with much of Londons present Victorian sewerage infrastructure and several listed buildings within its portfolio of sites. The remainder of Thames Water Authority was privatised as Thames Water Utilities Limited, the company became listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE100 Index. Following international expansion, Thames Water became the third largest water company in 1995. Thames Water plc was acquired by the German utility company RWE in 2001, as well as its British operations, it continued as an international water treatment consultancy and acquired further overseas operations. In December 2006, the sale of Thames Waters British operation went ahead, under the new ownership, the company re-focused its efforts on improving its operational performance and in 2007 announced the largest-ever capital investment programme of any UK water company. On 14 March 2017, Macquarie Group sold its stake in Thames Waters holding company to OMERS. As of 2014, Thames Water provides the second cheapest residential water and sewerage charges of all the combined Water, since 2007, it has made capital investments at least £1 billion a year in its infrastructure – the largest such annual investment within the UK water industry. In 2015–2016, this figure was £1.2 billion and this level of investment has allowed the company to defer, but not avoid, substantial portions of its corporation tax liability in line with UK tax law. Every day, Thames Water abstracts / extracts, treats and supplies 2 and it maintains 30 raw water reservoirs and 235 underground service reservoirs. As well as customers, Thames Water supplies bulk clean water to some inset companies. Other inset companies maintain their own independent means of supply, likewise, it daily removes, treats and disposes 4
Thames Water
–
Thames Water's headquarters building at: Clearwater Court, Vastern Road,
Reading, RG1 8DB
Thames Water
–
Thames Water
Thames Water
–
Water pumping station at
Walton-on-Thames
Thames Water
–
Water pumping station at
Littleton
39.
Environment Agency
–
The Environment Agencys stated purpose is, to protect or enhance the environment, taken as a whole so as to promote the objective of achieving sustainable development. Protection of the environment relates to such as flood and pollution. The vision of the Agency is of a rich, healthy and diverse environment for present and it is organised into eight directorates that report to the chief executive. There are two policy and process directorates, one deals with Flood and Coastal Risk Management and the other with Environment and Business. These are backed up by the Evidence directorate, the fourth directorate is a single Operations delivery unit, responsible for national services, and line management of all the Regional and Area staff. The remaining directorates are central shared service groups for Finance, Legal Services, Resources, in support of its aims, the Agency acts as an operating authority, a regulatory authority and a licence authority. The agency is funded in part from the UK government Department for Environment, Food, funding for asset management and improvement and acquisition of flood risk management assets has traditionally come from local authorities via Flood Defence Committees. This was then effectively repaid by central Government in later years as part of the Formula Spending Share, in 2005 this was simplified by making a direct transfer from Treasury to the Environment Agency in the form of Flood Defence Grant in Aid. The Environment Agencys total funding in 2007–08 was £1,025 million, of that total, £628 million was provided in the form of flood defence grant-in-aid from government. In addition, £347 million was raised through statutory charging schemes and flood defence levies, in 2007–08 had an operational budget of £1.025 billion, of which £628m was grant from the Agencys sponsoring Government Departments. Approximately half the Agencys expenditure is on flood risk management, of the remainder, 12% goes to water resources, and 6% to other water functions including navigation and wildlife. Its chief executive is Sir James Bevan, Sir Philip Dilley resigned as chairman on 11 January 2016, with Emma Howard Boyd becoming acting chair. The Environment Agency was created by the Environment Act 1995, and it had responsibility for the whole of England and Wales but with specifically designated border arrangements with Scotland covering the catchment of the River Tweed. All of the bodies were disbanded and the local authorities relinquished their waste regulatory role. At the same time, the Agency took responsibility for issuing warnings to the public. On 1 April 2013, that part of the Environment Agency covering Wales was merged into Natural Resources Wales, the Environment Agency is the principal flood risk management operating authority. It has the power to flood risk from designated main rivers. These functions in relation to other rivers in England are undertaken by Local Authorities or internal drainage boards, the Environment Agency is also responsible for increasing public awareness of flood risk, flood forecasting and warning and has a general supervisory duty for flood risk management
Environment Agency
–
The
Thames Barrier is one of the flood risk management installations operated by the Environment Agency
Environment Agency
–
A remote controlled ARC-Boat that is used to collect river and estuarine data, assisting in flood forecasting
Environment Agency
–
The Environment Agency operates numerous
locks, such as this one at
Godstow,
Oxfordshire
40.
Sea level rise
–
Sea level rise refers to an increase in the volume of water in the world’s oceans, resulting in an increase in global mean sea level. Sea level rise is attributed to global climate change by thermal expansion of the water in the oceans and by melting of Ice sheets. Melting of floating ice shelves or icebergs at sea raises sea levels only slightly, Sea level rise at specific locations may be more or less than the global average. Local factors might include tectonic effects, subsidence of the land, tides, currents, storms, Sea level rise is expected to continue for centuries. IPCC Summary for Policymakers, AR5,2014, indicated that the mean sea level rise will continue during the 21st century, very likely at a faster rate than observed from 1971 to 2010. A January 2017 NOAA report suggests a range of GMSL rise of 0.3 –2.5 m possible during the 21st century, Sea level rises can considerably influence human populations in coastal and island regions and natural environments like marine ecosystems. On the timescale of centuries to millennia, the melting of ice sheets could result in even higher sea level rise, partial deglaciation of the Greenland ice sheet, and possibly the West Antarctic ice sheet, could contribute 4 to 6 m or more to sea level rise. Various factors affect the volume or mass of the ocean, leading to changes in eustatic sea level. The two primary influences are temperature, and the mass of water locked up on land and sea as water in rivers, lakes, glaciers. Over much longer timescales, changes in the shape of oceanic basins. Since the Last Glacial Maximum about 20,000 years ago, sea level has risen by more than 125 m, with rates varying from tenths of a mm/yr to 10+mm/year, as a result of melting of major ice sheets. During the rest of the early Holocene, the rate of sea level rise varied from a low of about 6.0 -9.9 mm/yr to as high as 30 -60 mm/yr during brief periods of accelerated sea level rise. In sharp contrast, the period between 14,300 and 11,100 calendar years ago, which includes the Younger Dryas interval, was an interval of reduced sea level rise at about 6.0 -9.9 mm/yr. Meltwater pulse 1C was centered at 8,000 calendar years, such rapid rates of sea level rising during meltwater events clearly implicate major ice-loss events related to ice sheet collapse. The primary source may have been meltwater from the Antarctic ice sheet, other studies suggest a Northern Hemisphere source for the meltwater in the Laurentide ice sheet. For example, this research included studies of Roman wells in Caesarea and these methods in combination suggest a mean eustatic component of 0.07 mm/yr for the last 2000 years. Since 1880, as the Industrial Revolution took center stage, the ocean began to rise briskly, climbing a total of 210 mm through 2009 causing extensive erosion worldwide, Sea level rose by 6 cm during the 19th century and 19 cm in the 20th century. Evidence for this includes geological observations, the longest instrumental records, for example, geological observations indicate that during the last 2,000 years, sea level change was small, with an average rate of only 0. 0–0.2 mm per year
Sea level rise
–
Map of the Earth with a six-meter sea level rise represented in red.
Sea level rise
–
Trends in global average absolute sea level, 1880–2013.
Sea level rise
–
Close-up of
Ross Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf of Antarctica, about the size of France and up to several hundred metres thick.
Sea level rise
–
Greenland 2007 melt anomaly, measured as the difference between the number of days on which melting occurred in 2007 compared to the average annual melting days from 1988–2006
41.
Sheerness
–
Sheerness /ʃɪərˈnɛs/ is a town located beside the mouth of the River Medway on the north-west corner of the Isle of Sheppey in north Kent, England. With a population of 12,000 it is the largest town on the island, Sheerness began as a fort built in the 16th century to protect the River Medway from naval invasion. In 1665, plans were first laid by the Navy Board for Sheerness Dockyard, the site was favoured by Samuel Pepys, then Clerk of the Acts of the navy, for shipbuilding over Chatham. Beginning with the construction of a pier and a promenade in the 19th century, industry retains its important place in the town and the Port of Sheerness is one of the United Kingdoms leading car and fresh produce importers. The town is the site of one of the UKs first co-operative societies, the first structure in what is now Sheerness was a fort built by order of Henry VIII to prevent enemy ships from entering the River Medway and attacking the naval dockyard at Chatham. In 1666 work began to replace it with a stronger fort, however, before its completion, this second fort was destroyed during the 1667 Dutch raid on the Medway. The Secretary of the Admiralty, Samuel Pepys, subsequently ordered the construction of Sheerness Dockyard as an extension to that at Chatham, by 1801 the population of the Minster-in-Sheppey parish, which included both Sheerness and the neighbouring town of Minster, reached 5,561. In 1816, one of the UKs first co-operative societies was started in Sheerness, chiefly to serve the dockyard workers, the Sheerness Economical Society began as a co-operative bakery but expanded to produce and sell a range of goods. By the middle of the 20th century, the society had spread across the Isle of Sheppey and had renamed the Sheerness. In 1863, mains water was installed in the town, towards the end of the 19th century, Sheerness achieved official town status and formed its own civil parish, separate from Minster-in-Sheppey. The 1901 Census recorded the Sheerness parish as having 18,179 residents and 2,999 houses, the towns low rainfall and ample sunshine made it popular as a seaside resort, with tourists arriving by steamboat and train. The Sheppey Light Railway opened in 1901, connecting the new Sheerness East station with the rest of the island, however, by 1950, lack of demand led to the railways closure. The Sheerness and District Tramways, which opened in 1903, only lasted until 1917, in 1944 the United States cargo ship SS Richard Montgomery ran aground and sank 1 mile off the coast of Sheerness, with large quantities of explosives on board. Due to the inherent danger and projected expense, the ship and its cargo have never been salvaged, if the wreck were to explode, a 2004 report published in New Scientist warned that an explosion could occur if sea water penetrated the bombs. In March 1960 the Royal Navy ceased operating the Sheerness dockyard, the dockyard closure led to thousands of job losses, and most of the nearby houses and shops in the Bluetown area were eventually abandoned and demolished. By the 1961 census, the population of Sheerness had fallen to 13,691, the dockyard closure also led to the decline of the Sheerness and District Cooperative Society, as many of its members were dockyard workers. At the time, the society was the main retailer. In 2003, the Beachfields Park project was organised to publicise Beachfields heritage, students of Cheyne Middle School and Minster College, with assistance from local organisations, researched the funfair, bandstands, Prisoner of the War hut, boating lake and bowling green
Sheerness
–
Sheerness clock tower
Sheerness
–
Sheerness Dockyard: Naval Terrace and Church.
Sheerness
–
Sheerness beach with the chimney of the
Grain Power Station in the distance
Sheerness
–
Terraced houses near the seafront
42.
Kent
–
Kent /ˈkɛnt/ is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south west, the county also shares borders with Essex via the Dartford Crossing and the French department of Pas-de-Calais through the Channel Tunnel. France can be clearly in fine weather from Folkestone and the White Cliffs of Dover. Hills in the form of the North Downs and the Greensand Ridge span the length of the county, because of its relative abundance of fruit-growing and hop gardens, Kent is known as The Garden of England. The title was defended in 2006 when a survey of counties by the UKTV Style Gardens channel put Kent in fifth place, behind North Yorkshire, Devon. Haulage, logistics, and tourism are industries, major industries in north-west Kent include aggregate building materials, printing. Coal mining has played its part in Kents industrial heritage. Large parts of Kent are within the London commuter belt and its transport connections to the capital. Twenty-eight per cent of the county forms part of two Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, the North Downs and The High Weald, the area has been occupied since the Palaeolithic era, as attested by finds from the quarries at Swanscombe. The Medway megaliths were built during the Neolithic era, There is a rich sequence of Bronze Age, Iron Age, and Roman era occupation, as indicated by finds and features such as the Ringlemere gold cup and the Roman villas of the Darent valley. The modern name of Kent is derived from the Brythonic word Cantus meaning rim or border and this describes the eastern part of the current county area as a border land or coastal district. Julius Caesar had described the area as Cantium, or home of the Cantiaci in 51 BC, the extreme west of the modern county was by the time of Roman Britain occupied by Iron Age tribes, known as the Regnenses. East Kent became a kingdom of the Jutes during the 5th century and was known as Cantia from about 730, the early medieval inhabitants of the county were known as the Cantwara, or Kent people. These people regarded the city of Canterbury as their capital, in 597, Pope Gregory I appointed the religious missionary as the first Archbishop of Canterbury. In the previous year, Augustine successfully converted the pagan King Æthelberht of Kent to Christianity, the Diocese of Canterbury became Britains first Episcopal See with first cathedral and has since remained Englands centre of Christianity. The second designated English cathedral was in Kent at Rochester Cathedral, in the 11th century, the people of Kent adopted the motto Invicta, meaning undefeated. This naming followed the invasion of Britain by William of Normandy, the Kent peoples continued resistance against the Normans led to Kents designation as a semi-autonomous county palatine in 1067. Under the nominal rule of Williams half-brother Odo of Bayeux, the county was granted powers to those granted in the areas bordering Wales
Kent
Kent
–
Kent shown within England
Kent
–
Title page of
William Lambarde 's Perambulation of Kent (completed in 1570, and published in 1576), a historical description of Kent and the first published
county history
Kent
–
The
White Cliffs of Dover
43.
Southend-on-Sea
–
It is bordered to the north by Rochford and to the west by Castle Point. It is home to the longest leisure pier in the world, London Southend Airport is located 1.5 NM north of the town centre. Originally the south end of the village of Prittlewell, Southend was home to a few poor fisherman huts, due to the bad transportation links between Southend and London, there was not rapid development during the Georgian Era like Brighton. It was the coming of the railways in the 19th Century, during the 19th century Southends pier was first constructed and the Clifftown development built, attracting many tourists in the summer months to its seven miles of beaches and bathing in the sea. Good rail connections and proximity to London mean that much of the economy has been based on tourism, Southend Pier is the worlds longest pleasure pier at 1.34 mi. It has suffered fires and ship collisions, most recently in October 2005, as a holiday destination, Southend declined from the 1960s onwards, as holidaying abroad became more affordable. However, about 6.4 million tourists still visit Southend per year, revenue & Customs, are major employers in the town, and the central offices for the collection of VAT are located at Alexander House on Victoria Avenue. An annual seafront airshow, started in 1986 when it featured a flypast by Concorde whilst on a charter flight, used to take place each May. The aircraft flew parallel to the seafront, offset over the sea, the RAF Falcons parachute display team and RAF Red Arrows aerobatics team were regular visitors to the show. The show has not been held since 2012 due to a lack of sponsorship, an attempt to revive the show for September 2015, as the Southend Airshow and Military Festival, failed. Sopot, Poland, has been Southend-on-Seas twin town since October 1999, Southend-on-Sea was formed as a municipal borough in 1892 with the functions of local government shared with Essex County Council. In 1913 the borough was enlarged by the area of Leigh on Sea Urban District. In 1914 the enlarged Southend gained the status of county borough, exempt from county council control, the county borough was enlarged in 1933 by the former area of Shoeburyness Urban District and part of Rochford Rural District. In 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, Southend became a district of Essex with borough status, however, in 1998 it again became the single tier of local government when it became a unitary authority. Seventeen wards each return three councillors, a total of 51, councillors serve four years and one third of the council is elected each year, followed by one year without election. Following the 2016 election results, the composition of the council is and they maintained a minority administration after the 2012 local elections, however the council has been run by a coalition of Lib Dems, Labour and Independents since June 2014. Most day-to-day decisions are by an executive headed by the council leader. The town has been twinned with the resort of Sopot in Poland since 1999 and has been developing three-way associations with Lake Worth, areas of criticism were the use of consultants and the spending of £3.5 million on taxis during the 2006–07 financial year
Southend-on-Sea
–
Aerial view of Southend-on-Sea
Southend-on-Sea
–
Southend-on-Sea Borough Council (Civic arms of Southend-on-Sea)
Southend-on-Sea
–
Southend – Civic Centre Autumn 2007
Southend-on-Sea
–
Seals off Southend
44.
Essex
–
Essex /ˈɛsᵻks/ is a county in England immediately north-east of London. It borders the counties of Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, the county town is Chelmsford, which is the only city in the county. Essex occupies the part of the old Kingdom of Essex, before this. As well as areas, the county also includes London Stansted Airport, the new towns of Basildon and Harlow, Lakeside Shopping Centre, the port of Tilbury. Originally recorded in AD527, Essex occupied territory to the north of the River Thames, incorporating all of what later became Middlesex and its territory was later restricted to lands east of the River Lea. In changes before the Norman conquest the East Saxons were subsumed into the Kingdom of England and, following the Norman conquest, Essex became a county. During the medieval period, much of the area was designated a Royal forest, including the county in a period to 1204. Gradually, the subject to forest law diminished, but at various times included the forests of Becontree, Chelmsford, Epping, Hatfield, Ongar. County-wide administration Essex County Council was formed in 1889, however County Boroughs of West Ham, Southend-on-Sea and East Ham formed part of the county but were unitary authorities. 12 boroughs and districts provide more localised services such as rubbish and recycling collections, leisure and planning, parish-level administration – changes A few Essex parishes have been transferred to other counties. Before 1889, small areas were transferred to Hertfordshire near Bishops Stortford, Essex became part of the East of England Government Office Region in 1994 and was statistically counted as part of that region from 1999, having previously been part of the South East England region. Two unitary authorities In 1998 the boroughs of Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock were granted autonomy from the county of Essex after successful requests to become unitary authorities. Essex Police covers the county and the two unitary authorities. The county council chamber and main headquarters is at the County Hall in Chelmsford, before 1938 the council regularly met in London near Moorgate, which with significant parts closer to that point and the dominance of railways had been more convenient than any place in the county. It currently has 75 elected councillors, before 1965, the number of councillors reached over 100. The highest point of the county of Essex is Chrishall Common near the village of Langley, close to the Hertfordshire border, the pattern of settlement in the county is diverse. Epping Forest also acts as a barrier to the further spread of London. Part of the southeast of the county, already containing the population centres of Basildon, Southend and Thurrock, is within the Thames Gateway
Essex
–
The village of
Finchingfield in north Essex
Essex
Essex
–
Skyline of
Southend-on-Sea
Essex
–
London Stansted Airport, in the north west of the county
45.
East Tilbury
–
East Tilbury is a village in the unitary authority of Thurrock borough, Essex, England and one of the traditional parishes in Thurrock. In Saxon times, the location on which the now stands was surrounded by tidal marshland. This is the location for the minster church established by St Cedd at Tilaburg which is mentioned in Bedes History of the English Church. In the 1860s, Coalhouse Fort was constructed on the bank of the Thames, from 1894 to 1936 East Tilbury was part of the Orsett Rural District. The East Tilbury Civil Parish was abolished in 1936 when the became part of Thurrock Urban District. The construction of a Bata Shoes factory in the 1930s resulted in development in East Tilbury. The factory has closed down. The Bata company developed not only a factory, but also a town for workers, built in the modernist style, a sizeable Czech workforce was relocated here, and has merged into the local community after connections were lost with Czechoslovakia after World War II. John Tusas father became manager of the factory, East Tilbury is served by modern infants and junior schools sharing a site opposite the old Bata factory and adjacent to parkland. The junior school recently acquired foundation status, the town is served by East Tilbury railway station on the Tilbury branch of the c2c service from London Fenchurch Street to Southend Central via Ockendon. East Tilbury is also served by the Amber Coaches bus route 374 which operates between Grays bus station and Basildon on Mondays to Saturdays and it is located about 2 miles south of the A13 road from London to Southend. East Tilbury does not have a shopping centre, its nearest major retail centres are located at Basildon. The area forms part of the Thames Gateway redevelopment zone and responsibility for delivery in this area is with the Thurrock Development Corporation. Large sections of Metropolitan Green Belt land have been earmarked for development, it is expected to include 14,000 homes, East Tilbury is one of seven conservation areas in Thurrock. On the northern end of the town is a park called Gobion Park. This got a development grant in 2009 of £50,000, the name may have come from Sir Richard Gobion from UpHavering
East Tilbury
–
The Bata Factory by John Winfield
46.
Cliffe, Kent
–
Cliffe is a village on the Hoo Peninsula in Kent, England, reached from the Medway Towns by a three-mile journey along the B2000 road. Situated upon a low chalk escarpment overlooking the Thames marshes, Cliffe offers views of Southend-on-Sea and it forms part of the parish of Cliffe and Cliffe Woods in the borough of Medway. The population of the village is included in the parish of Cliffe and Cliffe Woods. In 774 Offa, King of Mercia, built a wooden church dedicated to St Helen. Cliffe is cited in early records as having been called Clive, Clovesho, or Clofeshoch, was an ancient Saxon town, in Mercia and near London, where the Anglo-Saxon Church is recorded as holding the important Councils of Clovesho between 742 and 825. These had representation from the archbishopric of Canterbury and the whole English church south of the Humber, the location of Cloveshoo has never been successfully identified, but in the 18th century Cliffe was thought to be one possible location. The Grade I listed St Helens church at Cliffe was built about 1260 and was constructed in the style of alternating layers of Kent ragstone. It is one of the largest parish churches in Kent, and the one dedicated to St Helen. It contains wall paintings of the martyrdom of St. Edmund, a Jacobean pulpit, above the porch is a muniments room containing important historical documents. During the 14th century Cliffe was the site of a farm owned by the monks of Christs Church, Canterbury, Cliffe-at-Hoo was still considered a town in the 16th century, but by the middle of the 19th century the population had slumped to about 900. In 1824, construction of the Thames and Medway Canal was begun, providing work for able-bodied villagers and other labourers who came to the area and he drained such a large area of the marsh and so improved the grazing pastures that he was called King of the Hundreds. Henry Pye was an innovator in farming practices promoting the use of Aveling and Porter steam engines, locally built in Rochester, for use in ploughing and threshing. In 1878, with other farmers Pye met with the South Eastern Railway Company and petitioned for a railway to be built, the first part of the line was opened in March 1882, running from Cliffe to Sharnal Street. The rise of the Kent cement industry brought a new prosperity to the ancient settlement during the Victorian era. Alfred Francis, with his son, established the firm of Francis and Co. at the Nine Elms office at Vauxhall, London, Francis and Co instituted the Nine Elms cement works. These works were built on Cliffe marsh, to the west of the village where the chalk cliffs came almost to within a mile of the River Thames, the area also proved a useful source of clay. The riverside location provided ease of transport and wharves were built at the mouth of Cliffe creek. A canal was constructed from the works, which gave its name to a tavern built nearby, 1870–71 saw further developments to the cement works, which were rebuilt and extended, with an elaborate tramway added
Cliffe, Kent
–
Cliffe
Cliffe, Kent
–
St Helen's church in May 2015
Cliffe, Kent
–
Arriva Medway Towns Plaxton Pointer II bodied
Dennis Dart SLF outside Six Bells pub in April 2014
Cliffe, Kent
–
The Charnel House in May 2015.
47.
Tidal power
–
Tidal power or tidal energy is a form of hydropower that converts the energy obtained from tides into useful forms of power, mainly electricity. Although not yet used, tidal power has potential for future electricity generation. Tides are more predictable than wind energy and solar power, historically, tide mills have been used both in Europe and on the Atlantic coast of North America. The incoming water was contained in large ponds, and as the tide went out. The earliest occurrences date from the Middle Ages, or even from Roman times, the process of using falling water and spinning turbines to create electricity was introduced in the U. S. and Europe in the 19th century. The worlds first large-scale tidal power plant was the Rance Tidal Power Station in France and it was the largest tidal power station in terms of output until Sihwa Lake Tidal Power Station opened in South Korea in August,2011. The Sihwa station uses sea wall defense barriers complete with 10 turbines generating 254 MW, Tidal power is taken from the Earths oceanic tides. Tidal forces are periodic variations in gravitational attraction exerted by celestial bodies and these forces create corresponding motions or currents in the worlds oceans. Due to the attraction to the oceans, a bulge in the water level is created. When the sea level is raised, water from the middle of the ocean is forced to move toward the shorelines and this occurrence takes place in an unfailing manner, due to the consistent pattern of the moon’s orbit around the earth. Tidal power is the technology that draws on energy inherent in the orbital characteristics of the Earth–Moon system. Other natural energies exploited by human technology originate directly or indirectly with the Sun, including fuel, conventional hydroelectric, wind, biofuel, wave. A tidal generator converts the energy of tidal flows into electricity, greater tidal variation and higher tidal current velocities can dramatically increase the potential of a site for tidal electricity generation. This loss of energy has caused the rotation of the Earth to slow in the 4.5 billion years since its formation. During the last 620 million years the period of rotation of the earth has increased from 21.9 hours to 24 hours, while tidal power will take additional energy from the system, the effect is negligible and would only be noticed over millions of years. Some tidal generators can be built into the structures of existing bridges or are entirely submersed, land constrictions such as straits or inlets can create high velocities at specific sites, which can be captured with the use of turbines. These turbines can be horizontal, vertical, open, or ducted, Tidal barrages make use of the potential energy in the difference in height between high and low tides. When using tidal barrages to generate power, the energy from a tide is seized through strategic placement of specialized dams
Tidal power
–
The world's first commercial-scale and grid-connected tidal stream generator – SeaGen – in
Strangford Lough. The strong
wake shows the power in the
tidal current.
Tidal power
–
Top-down view of a DTP dam. Blue and dark red colors indicate low and high tides, respectively.
Tidal power
–
Wave power
48.
Thames Estuary Airport
–
A new Thames Estuary Airport has been proposed at various times since the 1940s. In the case of Heathrow, the growth of air traffic has meant that the airport is operating at 98% capacity, several locations for a new airport have been proposed in the Thames Estuary, to the east of London. Economic considerations have so far ruled out a new airport, while political considerations have ruled out a new inland airport. On 17 December 2013 the Airports Commission, interim report was published, the proposal for an Isle of Grain airport underwent further study in 2014 before the final report was delivered in Summer 2015. In October 2016, the go-ahead for a runway at Heathrow was given meaning that the idea of a Thames Estuary airport is now unlikely. Before World War II, Croydon Airport was Londons principal airport, in 1943 the government built a new heavy military transport airfield on a rural site to the west of London near the village of Heathrow. It was converted to use after the war and went into service as London Airport, later London Heathrow Airport. Another airport already existed at Gatwick and had used since 1930 as a relief airport for Croydon. A rapid growth in air traffic during the 1950s led to Gatwick becoming Londons official second airport in 1954 to accommodate the overspill from Heathrow, intended to serve 8 million passengers per year, the cost of the scheme was estimated at £20 million. It was planned with a central Terminus, three runways each two and a half miles long and was intended to operate 24 hours a day. By 1960, it was becoming apparent that further air capacity was needed, stansted, a former military airfield in Essex, was proposed as a third airport in 1963. Cublington in the Vale of Aylesbury was its chosen site and it was seen offering the best access, as it was situated on the key London-Birmingham axis, it would be away from built-up areas and it would cost less than most of the alternatives. The proposal met strong opposition from local people and more broadly from politicians. One influential member of the Roskill Commission, Colin Buchanan, dissented on environmental and planning grounds and proposed a site at Maplin Sands, Foulness. In due course the Maplin Development Act received Royal Assent in October 1973. The new town would eventually cover 82 square miles, with a population of 600,000 people, while the route to the airport would require a corridor 100 yards wide. The cost would be a then-astronomical £825 million, which many – particularly in the Labour Party, the Maplin airport project was abandoned in July 1974 when Labour came to power. In 2002 a Department for Transport study identified a site at Cliffe on the Hoo Peninsula in north Kent as the leading contender among potential sites for a new airport for London
Thames Estuary Airport
–
Locations of proposed Thames Estuary airports, from west to east: 1. Cliffe; 2. Grain (Thames Hub); 3. Maplin Sands, Foulness; 4. Off the Isle of Sheppey; 5. Shivering Sands ("Boris Island") with the exclusion zone around the wreck of
SS Richard Montgomery.
49.
Isle of Grain
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The Isle of Grain is the easternmost point of the Hoo Peninsula in the district of Medway in Kent. No longer an island, the Isle is almost all marshland, the Isle constitutes a civil parish, which at the 2011 census had a population of 1,648, a net decrease of 83 people in 10 years. Extract from the Topographical Dictionary of Great Britain and Ireland by John Gorton,1833, GRAINE, ISLE OF, the closure of the road caused considerable anger among the residents of the Island and it was later reopened. The goods route from the Medway Towns to the upper Thames Estuary was later shortened by the Thames and Medway Canal, although this route, in 1855, as part of military defences guarding the Thames, Grain Tower, a fort, was built. It remained in use until 1946, having been used during both World Wars, in various warm years the incidence of marsh fever was extremely high. Since the removal of livestock from marshy areas, the population of native mosquitoes has greatly declined, Yantlet Creek at the south of the Yantlet Line was the downstream limit of the City of Londons ownership of the bed of the River Thames. It is marked by a London Stone beside the mouth of the creek, the south of the Isle is an important industrial area. Until 1982 it was home to a oil refinery. Construction of this facility for British Petroleum took from 1948 to 1952, in the 1990s the refinery site was chosen for a purpose-built facility to make concrete lining segments for the Channel Tunnel. Following completion of the Channel Tunnel, the site is now part-occupied by Thamesport, the remainder is allocated for industrial and warehousing use under the Thames Gateway project. Next to the former BP site is Grain Power Station, built in the 1970s and it was mothballed in 2003, but reopened in 2006 to provide up to three percent of the National Grid supply. There are plans to replace Grain power station when it reaches the end of its life, by building a new. Another major installation is a new Grain Liquefied Natural Gas import facility, the Isle of Grain was the site of Grain Fort, built in the 1860s and used for coastal defence until the 1950s. The fort was almost completely demolished about 1960, leaving only the earth rampart. Grain Tower, about a quarter of a mile off-shore and accessible at low tide, later additions, consisting of concrete emplacements and shelters, were added during the World Wars, and the tower was used as a boom control point. The boom was a chain supporting a huge antisubmarine net across the two rivers, preventing entry by German U-boats, the Isle of Grain is the landing point for the Britned undersea power cable between The Netherlands and the UK. An 1801 map shows that the ancient village of Grain was at one time called St James in the Isle of Grain. Like others in the Hundred of Hoo, the village was named after the dedication of its church, compare Allhallows
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Grain church
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The Grain Tower 1855, and causeway seen at low tide 2008
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London Stone, Yantlet Creek
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Isle of Grain and the Medway Estuary from the air
