Measurement of current changes in land levels as input to long-term planning for flood risk management along the Thames estuary

Long-term planning for flood risk management in coastal and estuarine areas requires timely and reliable information on changes in land and sea levels. In this paper we describe how we have produced a detailed, high-resolution map of current changes in land levels for the Thames region, and carried out a new assessment of the changes in sea level relative to the land along the Thames Estuary over the past few decades/past century. We conclude the paper by considering the potential benefits of extended monitoring for the long-term planning of flood and coastal defences in that region.