Newhaven Fort is helping to gather data on wave conditions in Seaford Bay, as part of a regional programme to monitor changing conditions along the Channel Coast.
 
A wave rider buoy has been moored out in Seaford Bay to monitor wave heights and directions around the clock. The buoy feeds data back by a "line of sight" transmitter to a monitoring station on the cliff top at Newhaven Fort. The data is then fed downline to the National Oceanographic Centre at Southampton University, where it is logged and posted on the Channel Coast Observatory website at www.channelcoast.org/southeast. This website contains a wide range of data about sea and beach conditions along the coast.
 
Wave data is combined with other data on beach heights and profiles to give a better understanding of how the coast is changing, with erosion in some places and build up of material at others. The work helps to inform coastal management work and is part of the Strategic Coastal Monitoring Programme for the coast between Selsey Bill and Beachy Head.
 
"This work is very important for our understanding of how the coast is changing" said Cllr Peter Gardiner of Lewes District Council. "In particular, it will help us understand the forces shaping Seaford Beach, which is a very exposed location taking the full force of waves driven by the predominant south westerly winds. The Beach, which is maintained by the Environment Agency, acts as a barrier against the sea and helps protect a large part of the town from flooding."
 
ENDS

Notes to Editor:
Newhaven Fort is an award-winning visitor attraction, open to the public from March to October. The fort is owned and operated by Lewes District Council and offers visitors the opportunity to experience a day out with a difference, as they step into wartime Britain and follow in the footsteps of people who lived through the first and second World Wars. The massive walls, ramparts, tunnels and gun emplacements all fire the imagination, and the clifftop location offers stunning, far-reaching views across Seaford Bay, Newhaven Port and the English Channel.

Newhaven Fort is open daily from 10.30am until 6.00pm (or dusk, if earlier). http://www.newhavenfort.org.uk/

For further press information, please contact Serena Costello on 01273 484194 or email serena.costello@lewes.gov.uk