Where I write about using maths, science and programming in everyday life.
This can be helpful for checking if you are being mislead by other peoples' figures.
And a great way to show your children that maths and science is useful and relevant to their lives.
For example
Are Sea Levels Around UK Rising As Fast As Predicted?
You can check using nothing more than a ruler and division.
You can download monthly observations of sea levels from various locations all around the world from www.psmsl.org for free.
Here is a graph of sea levels at Felixstowe using data downloaded from www.psmsl.org on 16 Nov 2011.
The green dots on the plot are monthly observations of sea levels at Felixstowe, held by Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level.
The downward pointing straight line is the trend line of the observations.
The upward curving line shows the sea level rise predicted by DEFRA in 2006, which is being used as the starting point for the Environment Agency's Shoreline Management Plan. The SMP details how EA intend to defend the shorelines of the UK for the next 100 years.
| Period | Rate of Sea Level Rise mm/year |
Total Sea Level Rise for period mm
|
|---|---|---|
| 1990-2025 |
4.0
|
140
|
| 2025-2055 |
8.5
|
255
|
| 2055-2085 |
12.0
|
360
|
| 2085-2115 |
15.0
|
450
|
|
Total Sea Level Rise
1990 to 2115
Total Sea Level Rise
1990 to 2115
|
1205
|
|
A rise of 1.205 meters is predicted between 1990 and 2105.
Question: How likely do you think it is that sea level will rise as predicted by DEFRA?
To read more, including a detailed description of how to estimate a trend line, download pdf report or visit my blog
Graphs Of UK Sea Levels
Select UK Sea Levels from menu on left to sea graphs for all stations around UK that record sea levels.