Last night Channel 4 broadcast a film on the Mesolithic Tsunami that swamped "Doggerland" and helped form the North Sea "4OD telly programme"
the refugees from the disaster may have increased populations so that they intensified exploitation by buirning scrub to increase hazel (nut) growth, for instance. The size of the wave -estimated 21m in Scotland- would have devastated communities and traumatised survivors.
The origins of the flood that finally made the English Channel are more contentious, see http://www.qpg.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/englishchannelformation/ for a different view to that expressed in the programme .
However the tsunami that swamped Doggerland was one of many that have helped mould the land-and-seascapes of the Britain and Ireland. For instance, it is said that the island of Aughinish on the west of ireland, was formed by the tsunami following the1755 Lisbon Earthquake
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| from http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2012/12/doggerland/spinney-text |
the refugees from the disaster may have increased populations so that they intensified exploitation by buirning scrub to increase hazel (nut) growth, for instance. The size of the wave -estimated 21m in Scotland- would have devastated communities and traumatised survivors.
The origins of the flood that finally made the English Channel are more contentious, see http://www.qpg.geog.cam.ac.uk/research/projects/englishchannelformation/ for a different view to that expressed in the programme .
However the tsunami that swamped Doggerland was one of many that have helped mould the land-and-seascapes of the Britain and Ireland. For instance, it is said that the island of Aughinish on the west of ireland, was formed by the tsunami following the1755 Lisbon Earthquake
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With another devastating tsunami in 1761, the Clare town of Milltown Malbay got its second name (meall-bhaigh approximates to treacherous coast)
Two layers of peat formed in the dunes of Spanish Point, one dates to the 18th-c tsunamis (by carbon date), another to the early 9th century - which would tally with an account of the division of an island or peninsula of Fitha to form a series of islands in 804
Other possible tsunamis occured in 1014, 1580, 1607 and in the North Sea in 1858 A witness stated that at 9.15 am the sea in Pegwell Bay, North Kent, "suddenly receded about 200 yards and returned to its former position within the space of about 20 minutes" - a possible "meteotsunami".
So is the Thames Barrier - or future larger barriers - capable of withstanding a catastrophic event? or should we plan to remove homes and businesses from the Thames Floodplain? If done over an extended period - by using strict planning criteria - it might act greatly to enhance the quality of life in London, increasing planning ratios in places like Croydon, Stratford, Ilford, Romford, and Hammersmith, but creating a network of green infrastructure at the heart of the city, parks and woods thast would absorb atmospheric pollution and a corridor for nature. That might guarantee London as a locus for high-value jobs as a desirable place to live and work. Just an idea
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| Thames floodplain fropm http://walbrookriver.org/?page_id=5 |
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| Steve McGhee's flooded London from http://www.itv.com/news/london/update/2013-08-15/artist-depicts-london-in-natural-disaster/ |
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