London time--

River level--

Tidal stream--

Thames Barrier--

drag: orbit · right-drag / two fingers: pan · wheel / pinch: zoom · click a landmark

Building London…

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London and the Thames: Tide, Barrier and Landmarks Lab

Stylised, compressed map. Real tide mathematics (M2, S2, N2), a storm surge, the Thames Barrier rule and the London Eye.

Scenarios

Clock and tide forecast

Live readouts

Surge, river flow, weather

North Sea surge (peak)

Surge peak vs spring high water

Surge duration (std. deviation)

River flow at Teddington

Weather

Season (sun path)

Thames Barrier

Decision level (forecast peak)

Safety margin on closing time

Experiment: Barrier closing time versus surge height

Question: how long does the Barrier stay shut, and how much time is to spare before the sea passes the decision level? The model sweeps the surge height (0 to 4 m) on a spring tide. Choose when the surge peak arrives relative to high water.

Press the button.

Bridges and boats

Vessel height above the water (air draught)

Bridge

London Eye

Time for one turn (real wheel: 30 min)

Independent numerical checks

The science