Friday, 9 June 2000 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.

United Oxford & Cambridge University Club Princess Mary Louise Room 71 Pall Mall London SW1Y 5HD

The weekend of events kicked off the evening of Friday, 9 June with wine and canapes at the United Oxford and Cambridge University Club on Pall Mall. Members received a warm welcome from MIT Club President Linda Morecroft (EE 86), Bill Hecht (MG 61), Executive VP and CEO of the Alumni

While some disappointment was generated by the inability of participants to meet a priori estimations on the consumption of wine, the gathering nevertheless served its purpose well of bringing together participants of the weekend’s events to get to know one another and to create a jovial, friendly atmosphere that would thrive throughout the weekend. This success was evident in the number of people lingering well beyond the official wrap-up time!

THAMES BARRIER TOUR

Saturday, 10 June 2000
10a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

The weather held up nicely on Saturday, 10 June, when 16 members of the MIT Club of Great Britain travelled out to Greenwich for a private 2 ½ hour tour of the Thames Barrier
flood protection system. This began with a thoroughly informative introduction and discussion concerning the functioning, design and construction of the Barrier

Since its completion in 1982, the Thames Barrier has been raised more than 25 times, largely as a precaution. The only disappointment voiced by some participants was that this number couldn’t be increased for our pleasure – upon asking whether one of the gates could be shut for our amusement, we were denied.

Following the rigours of our tour, we enjoyed a leisurely and sunny return to Westminster by river boat, passing between the piers of the Barrier and past such sites as the Millennium Dome, the Royal Observatory and National Maritime Museum at Greenwich, the Docklands, Tower Bridge and the London Eye.

All in all, it was fun and educational day out for all. This event was so enjoyed, in fact, that there have been rumours of a re-enactment next year, so be on the lookout to be sure not to miss it the second time around!

N.B. About the Thames Barrier:

• Completed in 1982 and inaugurated by HM The Queen in 1984, the Thames Barrier was built to protect London from surge tides. It cost over £1 billion and took 8 years to build.

• Most threatening to London is a combination of surge tides and spring tides. Surge tides can occur when a low pressure weather system moves across the Atlantic and descending into North Sea. In these low pressure zones, the sea can rise approximately 30cm (1 ft) over an area roughly 1,600 km (1,000 miles) in diameter. As they travel south along Britain’s east cost, a funnelling effect takes place and surge tides of up to

• It spans 520 metres (a third of a mile) across the Thames at Woolwich Reach (where the river is comparatively straight and the chalk-with-flints strata suitable for its construction). Half a million tonnes of concrete were used to build the piers, and the sills on which the gates rest on the river bed when being used. When raised, each of the 4 main gates is as high as a 5-storey building and as wide as the opening of Tower Bridge (61 metres) and, with the two gate arms weighing 8,700 tonnes.

• The creation of the Thames Barrier is only part (albeit a significant part) of a broader flood protection system. In conjunction with the building of the Thames Barrier, tidal protection walls were raised downstream along the Thames leading up to the Barrier at Greenwich (32 km) raising bank levels by 2m.

• During the more dangerous months of the year (usually in winter), repairs are made only under the condition that any parts removed or altered can be restored within four hours – the amount time it takes for a potentially damaging tide to travel from Scotland (from where reports on the presence of threats are received) to the mouth of the Thames.

• It takes approximately 9 minutes for each gate to be raised. The hydraulic power packs (sheltered by the stainless steel shells) are electrically driven; using 3 alternative supplies, routed via each of the riverbanks and, should these options become unavailable, from 3 on-site power generators.

• The gates of the Barrier were raised in 1989 in order to maintain a low tide level during divers’ search for victims of the ‘Marchioness’ disaster.

For more information about the Thames Barrier, visit the Environment Agency’s website at http://www. environment-agency.gov.uk