Abstract
This section describes the existing physical environment of the Humber Gateway site and surrounding area. The physical features described in this section include the following:
- meteorology and climate (including a description of the wind climate and visibility characteristics), Section 7.2;
- chemical and physical oceanography (including a description of the water quality, waves, tides, bathymetry and sea level change), Section 7.3;
- coastal and marine geology and geomorphology (including a description of coastal features, seabed topography and shallow geology), Section 7.4; and
- coastal and seabed dynamics (including a description of coastal erosion and shoreline processes and sediment transport), Section 7.5.
As well as describing the preconstruction conditions, the baseline studies also include a consideration of natural changes (e.g. sea level rise) which may result over the operating period of the wind farm. This provides context for comparing natural changes against any introduced by the development.