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LONDRES.- Contra viento y marea, la colosal barrera móvil del río
Támesis, una de las más extraordinarias obras de ingeniería del
mundo, ha cumplido 25 años resguardando a Londres de las
inundaciones, aunque ahora afronta el desafío del cambio climático.
Usada por primera vez en febrero de 1983, la estructura protege
nada menos que 125 kilómetros cuadrados del centro de la
capital.
"La barrera del Támesis fue concebida tras las inundaciones de 1953
(...). Dada la subida del nivel del mar y las temperaturas cada vez
más cálidas en el Reino Unido, esperamos en el futuro sucesos
climáticos más severos que entonces", advirtió Phil Evans, asesor del
Gobierno británico en el Instituto de Meteorología. De hecho, los
expertos calculan que la barrera, usada actualmente tres veces al año
-aunque en 2003, por ejemplo, llegó a activarse en once ocasiones-,
tendrá que cerrarse unas treinta veces al año antes de 2030.
Usada por primera vez en febrero de 1983, la estructura protege nada menos que 125
kilómetros cuadrados del centro de la capital del Reino Unido. En términos más
prácticos, la barrera de Tamesis ejerce de guardián de más de un millón de personas,
así como de la infraestructura de la que básicamente depende la ciudad y de edificios
tan emblemáticos como el Parlamento de Westminster o la Torre de Londres.
The concept of the rotating gates was devised by (Reginald) Charles Draper. In the
1950s, from his parents house in Pellatt Grove, Wood Green, London, he constructed a
working model. The novel rotating cylinders were based on a small household appliance
— a brass gas tap which could be found in most post war houses in the UK. The barrier
was designed by Rendel, Palmer and Tritton for the Greater London Council and tested
at the Hydraulics Research Station, Wallingford. The site at New Charlton was chosen
because of the relative straightness of the banks, and because the underlying river chalk
was strong enough to support the barrier. Work began at the barrier site in 1974 and
construction, which had been undertaken by a Costain/Hollandsche Beton
Maatschappij/Tarmac Construction consortium,[3] was largely complete by 1982. The
gates of the barrier were made by Cleveland Bridge UK Ltd[4] at Dent's Wharf on the
River Tees.[5] In addition to the barrier itself the flood defences for 11 miles down river
were raised and strengthened. The barrier was officially opened on 8 May 1984 by
Queen Elizabeth II. Total construction cost was around £534 million (£1.3 billion at
2001 prices) with an additional £100 million for river defences.
Built across a 520-metre (570 yd) wide stretch of the river, the barrier divides the river
into four 61-metre (200 ft) and two about 30 metre (100 ft) navigable spans. There are
also four smaller non-navigable channels between nine concrete piers and two
abutments. The flood gates across the openings are circular segments in cross section,
and they operate by rotating, raised to allow "underspill" to allow operators to control
upstream levels and a complete 180 degree rotation for maintenance. All the gates are
hollow and made of steel up to 40 millimetres (1.6 in) thick. The gates fill with water
when submerged and empty as they emerge from the river. The four large central gates
are 20.1 metres (66 ft) high and weigh 3,700 tonnes.[6] Four radial gates by the
riverbanks, also about 30 metres (100 ft) wide, can be lowered. These gate openings,
unlike the main six, are non-navigable.
The barrier from Silvertown on the north bank of the river during normal operation
looking across to New Charlton.
This section does not cite any references or sources. (May 2012)
A Thames Barrier flood defence closure is triggered when a combination of high tides
forecast in the North Sea and high river flows at the tidal limit at Teddington weir
indicate that water levels would exceed 4.87 metres (16.0 ft) in central London. Forecast
sea levels at the mouth of the Thames Estuary are generated by Met Office computers
and also by models run on the Thames Barrier's own forecasting and telemetry
computer systems. About 9 hours before the high tide reaches the barrier a flood
defence closure begins with messages to stop river traffic, close subsidiary gates and
alert other river users. As well as the Thames Barrier, the smaller gates along the
Thames Tideway include Barking Barrier, King George V Lock gate, Dartford Barrier
and gates at Tilbury Docks and Canvey Island must also be closed. Once river
navigation has been stopped and all subsidiary gates closed, then the Thames Barrier
itself can be closed. The smaller gates are closed first, then the main navigable spans in
succession. The gates remain closed until the tide downstream of the barrier falls to the
same level as the water level upstream.
After periods of heavy rain west of London, floodwater can also flow down the Thames
upstream from London. Because the river is tidal from Teddington weir all the way
through London, this is only a problem at high tide, which prevents the floodwater from
escaping out to sea. From Teddington the river is opening out into its estuary, and at
low tide it can take much greater flow rates the further one goes downstream. In periods
when the river is in flood upstream, if the gates are closed shortly after low tide, a huge
empty volume is created behind the barrier which can act as a reservoir to hold the
floodwater coming over Teddington weir. Most river floods will not fill this volume in
the few hours of the high tide cycle during which the barrier needs to be closed. If the
barrier was not there, the high tide would fill up this volume instead, and the floodwater
could then spill over the river banks in London. About a third of the closures up to 2009
were to alleviate fluvial flooding.
[edit] Barrier closures and incidents
In the 1980s there were four closures, 35 closures in the 1990s, and 75 closures in the
first decade of this century.[7] All told, there have been 119 flood defence closures up to
the closing on March 2, 2010.[8] Unusually, there has been over a two-year wait since
the 119th flood defence closure - the longest interval since the gap between the first and
second closures back in the early 1990s. The closest the Barrier has come to closing was
on 27 November 2011, then the Closure Team was called out and started to close the
gates, but was not fully closed since the surge subsided at the very last moment.
The barrier was closed twice on 9 November 2007 after a storm surge in the North Sea
which was compared to the one in 1953.[9] The main danger of flooding from the surge
was on the coast above the Thames Barrier, where evacuations took place, but the winds
abated a little and, at the Thames Barrier, the 9 November 2007 storm surge did not
completely coincide with high tide.[10]
On 20 August 1989, hours after the Marchioness disaster, the barrier was closed against
a spring tide for 16 hours "to assist the diving and salvage operations".[11] The barrier
was closed on 3 June 2012 to reduce the river flow whilst the Thames Diamond Jubilee
Pageant took place as part of the celebrations for the Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond
Jubilee celebrations.
An incident that was potentially catastrophic for London occurred on 27 October 1997.
The dredger MV Sand Kite operating in thick fog, collided with one of the Thames
Barrier's piers. As the ship started to sink she dumped her 3,300 tonne load of
aggregate, finally sinking by the bow on top of one of the barrier's gates where she lay
for several days. Initially the gate could not be closed as it was covered in a thick layer
of gravel. A longer term problem was the premature loss of paint on the flat side of the
gate caused by abrasion. One estimate of the cost of flooding damage, had it occurred,
was around £13 billion.[12] The vessel was refloated in mid-November 1997.
The barrier was originally commissioned by the Greater London Council under the
guidance of Ray Horner. After the 1986 abolition of the GLC it was operated
successively by Thames Water Authority and then the National Rivers Authority until
April 1996 when it passed to the Environment Agency.
[edit] Future
The barrier was originally designed to protect London against a big flood level, with a
return period of one thousand years up to the year 2030, after which the protection
would decrease, whilst remaining within acceptable limits.[13]
This defence level included long-term changes in sea and land levels as understood at
that time (c. 1970). Despite global warming and a consequently greater predicted rate of
sea level rise recent analysis extended the working life of the barrier until around 2060–
2070. From 1982 until 19 March 2007, the barrier was raised one-hundred times to
prevent flooding. It is also raised monthly for testing.[14]
Released in 2005, a study by four respected academics contained a proposal to
supersede the Thames Barrier by a more ambitious 16 km (10 mi) long barrier across
the Thames Estuary from Sheerness in Kent to Southend in Essex.[15]
In November 2011 a new Thames Barrier, further downsteam at Lower Hope between
East Tilbury in Essex and Cliffe in Kent, was proposed as part of the Thames Hub
integrated infrastructure development. The barrier would incorporate hydropower
turbines to generate renewable energy and include road and rail tunnels, providing
connections from Essex to a major new hub airport on the Isle of Grain.[16]
La Barrera del Támesis es la segunda barrera más grande del mundo contra las
inundaciones móvil (después de la Oosterscheldekering en Holanda ) y está situado
aguas abajo del centro de Londres.
Hay que saber que Londres es vulnerable a las inundaciones. La marea aumento se
canaliza por el Mar del Norte, que se estrecha hacia el Canal Inglés la que llega al
estuario del Támesis. Si la oleada de la tormenta coincide con las mareas vivas, los
niveles de agua peligrosamente altos puede ocurrir en el estuario del Támesis. Esta
situación combinada con las corrientes aguas abajo en el Támesis ofrece los factores
desencadenantes de las operaciones de defensa de inundaciones.
La Barrera del Támesis, que cruza el río cerca de Woolwich al este de la ciudad de
Londres, se inauguró el 8 de mayo de 1984. Esta obra maestra técnica; la mayor barrera
contra las inundaciones móvil en el mundo. Nueve muelles fueron hundidos en el lecho
del río y entre ellos hay 10 puertas de acero. Los arietes hidráulicos de elevación de
gran alcance tardar 30 minutos para mover las puertas en su posición.
Las visitas a la barrera real no están permitidos, pero hay buenas vistas de un paseo
fluvial. En el centro de visitantes hay un muy interesante programa de audio y video
sobre la construcción y el funcionamiento de la Barrera del Támesis.
Amenaza
La última vez que el centro de Londres se inundó por las crecidas del
río Támesis fue en 1928, y 14 personas murieron ahogadas.
En 1953 ocurrió otro desastroso desborde que cobró 300 vidas, pero
en esa ocasión las aguas no llegaron a las zonas densamente
pobladas del centro de la ciudad.
Cambio climático
Contenido
* 1 Diseño y construcción
* 2 de predicción para la operación
* 3 Barrera de cierre y los incidentes
* 4 Propiedad y manejo autoridad
* 5 Futuro
* 7 Véase también
* Diseño y construcción
Una de las puertas en underspill (marzo de 2007)
Construido en una de 520 metros (570 yardas) de ancho tramo del río, la
barrera divide el río en cuatro de 61 metros (200 pies) y dos cerca de 30 metros
(100 pies) se extiende navegables. También hay cuatro canales más pequeños
no navegables entre nueve pilares de hormigón y los pilares dos. Las puertas
de la inundación a través de las aberturas son segmentos circulares en sección
transversal, y que operan por rotación, se eleva a permitir "underspill" para
permitir a los operadores a controlar los niveles de aguas arriba y un completo
de 180 grados de rotación para el mantenimiento. Todas las puertas son
huecas y de acero de hasta 40mm de espesor. Las puertas se llenan de agua
durante la inmersión y vacío a medida que surgen desde el río. Las cuatro
puertas grandes centrales son 20,1 metros (66 pies) de alto y pesa 3.500
toneladas. [2] Cuatro compuertas radiales en las riberas del río, también a unos
30 metros (100 pies) de ancho, se puede bajar. Estas aberturas de la puerta, a
diferencia de los seis principales, no son navegables.
La vista desde el lado norte del Támesis.
* Predicción para la operación
La barrera fue originalmente encargado por el Consejo del Gran Londres bajo
la dirección de Ray Horner. Después de la abolición de 1986 el Comité de
Aprobación que fue operado sucesivamente por Thames Water Authority y la
Autoridad Nacional de Ríos hasta abril de 1996, cuando pasó a la Agencia de
Medio Ambiente.
* Futuro
En 2005, una sugerencia se hizo público que podría ser necesario para
reemplazar la Barrera del Támesis con una mucho más ambiciosa 16 km (10
millas) de barrera de largo a través del estuario del Támesis de Sheerness, en
Kent a Southend en Essex [10].
* Galería