Bitesize: how do rock lighthouses move in storms?

With Professor Alison Raby, Professor in Environmental Fluid Mechanics
Photograph of Alison Raby (image credit: University of Plymouth)

  • The Levinsky Gallery, Roland Levinsky Building, University of Plymouth, PL4 8AA

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Maintenance engineers on rock lighthouses have reported disturbing vibrations, notably during the violent winter storms of 2013/14. With predictions of sea level rise and changes to storm patterns, Trinity House (the UK lighthouses owners) commissioned the University of Plymouth to investigate whether the survivability of rock lighthouses is in question. A pilot project on the Eddystone lighthouse was quickly followed by an extensive investigation on several lighthouses in the UK and Ireland. This talk will describe some of the major challenges and findings, including a recent notable event that affected the Wolf Rock lighthouse off Land’s End. 
Alison Raby is a Professor of Environmental Fluid Mechanics at the University of Plymouth, where she leads the COAST Engineering Research Group. Alison is an expert on the interactions of extreme waves with coastal structures, having obtained her doctorate in extreme wave overtopping at the University of Oxford. She has recently led the EPSRC and UK General Lighthouse Authority-funded STORMLAMP project, a collaboration with UCL and Exeter University that has shed light on the structural response of rock lighthouses to wave impacts. She also conducts international post-tsunami reconnaissance missions under the auspices of the Institution of Structural Engineers. She is a Chartered Civil Engineer and Fellow of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 
Date: Wednesday 13 December 2023
Time: 13:00–13:45
Venue: The Levinsky Gallery, Roland Levinsky Building
Ticket information: Free admission – booking essential 
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