Evolution of alongshore bathymetric variability around a mega-scale beach nourishment

The presence of complex nearshore sand bar patterns (i.e. alongshore bathymetric variability) has an impact on local currents, affecting recreational safety and nearshore mixing processes. This study assesses the evolution of alongshore bathymetric variability along the Delfland coast in The Netherlands, over the first 5 years after construction...

impact of beach states on alongshore transport

Impact of spatial variability in the nearshore bathymetry on net sediment transport rates has been investigated for a selection of observed beach states at the Dutch coast. The beach states comprise a longshore bar trough and two transverse bar rip situations, which were present at the large scale Sand Motor nourishment at the Holland coast....

Semi-Automated Monitoring of a Mega-Scale Beach Nourishment Using High-Resolution TerraSAR-X Satellite Data

This paper presents a semi-automated approach to detecting coastal shoreline change with high spatial- and temporal-resolution using X-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data. The method was applied at the Sand Motor, a “mega-scale” beach nourishment project in the Netherlands. Natural processes, like waves, wind, and tides, gradually...

Tidal flow separation at protruding beach nourishments

In recent years, the application of large-scale beach nourishments has been discussed, with the Sand Motor in the Netherlands as the first real-world example. Such protruding beach nourishments have an impact on tidal currents, potentially leading to tidal flow separation and the generation of tidal eddies of<br/>length scales larger than the...

Effect of Different Forcing Processes on the Longshore Sediment Transport at the Sand Motor, The Netherlands

The Sand Motor is a pilot project of a ‘mega-nourishment’ built in the Dutch coast in 2011. In order to understand which conditions reshape those mega-nourishments the influence of different types of forcing on the longshore sediment transport along the Sand Motor has been assessed in this paper using a process-based model. The use of numerical...

Morphological Development of a Mega-Nourishment: First Observations at the Sand Engine

Large (mega-scale) nourishments have been proposed as a promising alternative for traditional beach and shoreface nourishments, especially for locations with large structural erosion and sufficient sediment to dredge. This paper examines the initial bathymetric evolution of the Sand Engine, a mega-nourishment of 17 million m3 protruding almost 1...