biology

South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme

South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme rather than just read about it. In short: The South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme, formerly known as Plymouth Coastal Observatory (PCO) is one of seven regional programmes in a national network which collectively monitor the coast of England and Wales. It is managed and led by Teignbridge District Council in partnership with other south west of England local authorities and the Environment Agency.

Key takeaways

South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme belongs to biology; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme, formerly known as Plymouth Coastal Observatory (PCO) is one of seven regional programmes in a national network which collectively monitor the coast of England and Wales. It is managed and led by Teignbridge District Council in partnership with other south west of England local authorities and the Environment Agency. The programme monitors over 2,450 km of coast between Portland Bill in Dorset and Beachley Point on the border with Wales. The focus of the ongoing programme is collecting data on waves, tides, LiDAR, Aerial Photography, topographic beach surveys, storm response and ecological mapping. Data is published through its website, and is freely available for public use.

Location South West Coastal Monitoring has an office situated on the Campus of University of Plymouth, located in the city centre of Plymouth, England. The contract and programme management runs from the Teignbridge District Council offices based at Forde House, in Newton Abbot, Devon.

History The first phase of the programme was set up in 2006, with an initial grant of £7.2 million from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA). The funding was split into two with £4.1 million used by Teignbridge to deliver, Bathymetric and Topographic, Hydrographic surveys and £3.1 million managed by the Environment Agency to deliver Aerial photography, LiDAR and Ecological mapping. Phase 2 of the programme commenced in 2011 with 100% DEFRA funding, and ran until 2016. Phase 2 of the Programme was solely managed by Teignbridge District Council. Phase 3 of the programme started in March 2016 and ran until 2021. Phase 4 of the programme started in 2021 and is funded by DEFRA until 2027. Phase 5 is expected to be funded from 2027.

Assets The programme has a network of wave buoys around the south west coastline collecting data on wave height, direction and sea temperature. In July 2014 the programmes wave buoys recorded the highest sea temperatures seen for 7 years around the south west coastline. In 2011 the buoy network also detected a 0.5–0.8m tsunami along south west coast of England. The programme has 13 wave buoys, 9 meteorological stations and 4 tide gauges situated around the south west coast, collecting real time wave, met, tidal and surge data. A notable addition to the tidal gauge network was the Port Isaac Step gauge, which was installed in 2010. The installation at Port Isaac filled a 'notable gap in measured tide data along the north Cornwall coastline'

Research and collaboration After the 2013/2014 winter storms Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) awarded a £50,000 emergency project grant to coastal researchers at the University of Plymouth in conjunction with PCO and the Met Office. The project ran from 1 March 2014 for 1 year and assessed the coastal response to the extreme winter storms. Collaboration between South West Coastal Monitoring and the University of Plymouth Coastal Process Research Group (CPRG) is ongoing. Data collected and provided by the South West Coastal Monitoring is used by local authority coastal engineers and planners to inform decisions on coastal policy, defence and maintenance. The programme also supports education and helped produce resource packs for KS3 and KS2 with Geography South West

Future development The programme currently employs 11 members of staff. It has close links with the Channel Coastal Observatory, and academics at University of Plymouth. Phase 5 of the programme is expected to commence from 2027 pending further DEFRA funding.

References

External links South West Coastal Monitoring National Coastal Monitoring SDADCAG SCOPAC

Illustrations

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme

In research: South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Coastal geography, Coasts of England, Ecological observatories, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme in simple terms?

Why does South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on South West Regional Coastal Monitoring Programme.