17th-century flood highlights modern climate change
Science is translated into everyday language
A VIRTUAL reality animation of Hull flooding more than 400 years ago is being used as a way of highlighting today’s challenges around climate change.
The stunning computer-generated images of 17th-century Hull under water form just one of a number of arts and culture projects in the city now addressing the issue.
It has been created by researchers at the University of Hull, digital media firm XR Stories and virtual reality firm Betajester.
As well as recreating the look of old Hull, it also features a cameo from the city’s celebrated poet Andrew Marvell, who often wrote about contemporary flooding in his works.
Dr Briony Mcdonagh, an historical geographer based at the university, said: “Hull was a very different place during Marvell’s time, but flooding was a problem then and it still is today.”
She is also part of Risky Cities, a new Arts and Humanities Councilfunded project aimed at using the arts and history as a way of educating people about flood risk and ways to make communities more resilient.
“The story of Hull is all about water because of its geography. What we are trying to do with projects like Risky Cities is tell that story in an accessible way.”
In the Marvell film, researchers have modelled the 2013 storm surge along the Humber against
Hull’s 17th-century defences to see how they would have stood up to today’s extreme weather events.
Dr Chris Skinner, who is based at the university’s energy and environment institute, provided the flood modelling data.
He said: “Before we extensively managed the estuary by building embankments and walls to keep water out, people used to use it to their advantage.
“By deliberately flooding fields, they added rich sediments and even held back Royalist forces sieging the city during the Civil War.
“In part, it’s this relationship with the Humber we want to try and come back to by learning to live with the estuary as part of the nature of the city as opposed to it being something to fear.”
Speaking at this week’s Waterline Summit, Dr Mcdonagh said initiatives ranging from a community dance project, celebrating women engineers working on the North Sea offshore wind industry, to a Absolutely Cultured-commissioned sound and light spectacular, based on climate change scheduled to take place in Hull
later this winter, were aimed at bringing more public attention to current environmental issues.
At the same event, University of Hull marine bioligist Dr Christina Roggatz said a recently installed permanent exhibition at The Deep called Changing Seas was a good example of making the impact on climate change on the natural environment accessible to everyone.
“Making research results accessible to everyone is important to me,” she said.
“Children and young people are key drivers to inspire community action and change habits, but we need to give them a way to be both inspired and to inspire us.”
Speaking at the event, environmental science artist Kelly Stanford said: “A lot of scientists I know produce brilliant work in the laboratory, but don’t know how to express that work outside of the lab or the scientific world they exist in,” she said.
The Waterline Summit is taking place online all this week with guest speakers scheduled alongside exhibitions and interactive games.