Morphodynamic Modelling in Tidal and Estuarine Environments

Abstract

The overarching aim of this
research is to contribute towards a best practice in modelling meso-scale
O(10km), medium-term O(5yrs.) morphological features in Tidal & Estuarine
environments. Therefore, various modelling aspects and stages are reviewed. The
first pillar argues the need for numerical models in the Geomorphological
Engineering discipline on the basis of a brief overview of the historic
advances in numerical modelling. Next, the foundation of a numerical model is
considered by means of a concise overview of numerical discretisation
techniques and their characteristics. We assess the representation of the
typical set of physical processes that one may encounter in present-day
morphodynamic models and compare their (mathematical) representation following
from the underlying choice of discretisation technique. Hereto, we refrain
ourselves to the two commonly used methods - finite element and finite
difference method. The second pillar gives an overview of the methods that
geomorphologists may employ to reduce the model input, and methods to
accelerate morphological computations. The last pillar sheds light on different
methods that may be applied by geomorphologists to give more insight into the
performance of morphodynamic models. These results can, in turn, be of
considerable interest in the pursuit to quantitatively validate model
predictions. Lastly, this research is concluded with a set of interviews wherein
esteemed applied morphodynamic experts were asked about their perception on a
possible best practice in modelling skillful meso-scale features in the
timeframe of reference. This research hints, therefore, towards an overarching
systematic strategy that could be applied by geomorphologists to acquire
accurate morphodynamic model predictions on the temporal scale of 5-10 years
and for meso-scale features in the order of tens of kilometres.