Benefits of fully focused SAR altimetry to coastal wave height estimates: A case study in the North Sea

Estimating the three geophysical variables significant wave height (SWH), sea surface height, and wind speed from satellite altimetry continues to be challenging in the coastal zone because the received radar echoes exhibit significant interference from strongly reflective targets such as sandbanks, sheltered bays, ships etc. Fully focused...

Mud dynamics in the Belgian coastal zone and siltation in the harbor of Zeebrugge

Ports are important drivers for economic activity. For the Port of Zeebrugge, important sectors include cars, containers and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Due to significant siltation, frequent maintenance dredging is necessary in order to ensure the nautical accessibility. For Zeebrugge, that responsibility falls on the Flemish department of...

North sea infragravity wave observations

Coastal safety assessments with wave-resolving storm impact models require a proper offshore description for the incoming infragravity (IG) waves. This boundary condition is generally obtained by assuming a local equilibrium between the directionally-spread incident sea-swell wave forcing and the bound IG waves. The contribution of the free...

Selection index for Wave Energy Deployments (SIWED): A near-deterministic index for wave energy converters

This study introduces a novel index that accounts for the interactions of wave climate and wave energy converters, offering an unbiased approach that considers climate variability, survivability and energy production. Application of the index is done with use of a longterm wave hindcast validated database for the North Sea. A detailed overall...

Benthic species distribution linked to morphological features of a barred coast

The composition of benthic species communities in the nearshore zone is closely related to the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic conditions. Sustainable management of the coastal ecosystem requires knowledge about the natural dynamics as well as human-induced changes on the ecosystem. To improve our knowledge of the benthic species distribution...

Process-based and Surrogate Modelling of Fine Sediment Transport in the Dutch Coastal Zone

Coastal zones which are known as the interface between continents and oceans are vital and important to human beings because a majority of the world's population live in such zones (Nelson, 2007). Coastal systems are among the most dynamic and energetic environments on earth and they are continuously changing because of the dynamic interaction...

A Hybrid Approach to Combine Physically Based and Data-Driven Models in Simulating Sediment Transportation

The objective of this study is to develop a methodology for hybrid modelling of sedimentation in a coastal basin or large shallow lake where physically based and data driven approaches are combined. This research was broken down into three blocks. The first block explores the possibility of approximating a physically based model using a data...