Articles | Volume 22, issue 1
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-749-2026
https://doi.org/10.5194/os-22-749-2026
Technical note
 | 
25 Feb 2026
Technical note |  | 25 Feb 2026

Evaluation of Extreme Sea-Levels and Flood Return Period using Tidal Day Maxima at Coastal Locations in the United Kingdom

Stephen E. Taylor

Cited articles

Baranes, H. E., Woodruff, J. D., Talke, S. A., Kopp, R. E., Ray, R. D., and DeConto, R. M.: Tidally Driven Interannual Variation in Extreme Sea Level Frequencies in the Gulf of Maine, JGR Oceans, 125, e2020JC016291, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020JC016291, 2020. 
Batstone, C., Lawless, M., Tawn, J., Horsburgh, K., Blackman, D., McMillan, A., Worth, D., Laeger, S., and Hunt, T.: A UK best-practice approach for extreme sea-level analysis along complex topographic coastlines, Ocean Engineering, 71, 28–39, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oceaneng.2013.02.003, 2013. 
Coles, S.: An Introduction to Statistical Modeling of Extreme Values, Springer London, London, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-3675-0, 2001. 
Coles, S. G. and Dixon, M. J.: Likelihood-Based Inference for Extreme Value Models, Extremes, 2, 5–23, https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009905222644, 1999. 
Doodson, A. T. and Warburg, H. D.: Admiralty Manual of Tides, Her Majesty’s Stationary Office, UK, 1941 (reprinted 1961, 1980). 
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Short summary
Coastal planners need to know the the risk of coastal flooding so that sea defences can be sited appropriately. The author has developed a novel technique which analyses tide gauge data, estimating the risk versus the height of sea-defences required. A comparison with results of a UK Environment Agency 2011 study shows good agreement. The new approach is simpler to automate than the method used in that study, and can improve strategies for coastal management and resilience planning.
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