Hybrid Modelling in Hydrology Using a Neural Ordinary Differential Equations Approach

Conceptual models in hydrology are widely used, allow for easy interpretation and require little data. Machine learning models in hydrology often outperform conceptual models but lack the ease of interpretability, require large amounts of data and and do not obey physical laws. Hybrid approaches aiming to combine the advantages of both...

Dune Erosion on the Falsterbo Peninsula: Assessing the Dune System for Coastal Safety in Regions with Complex Interactions Between Waves and Water levels

The Falsterbo Peninsula is a low-lying area that provides a home to 7,000 residents, as well as various bird and vegetation species. To protect this densely populated area, the municipality was granted a permit to build flood protections. As part of the strategy, the dune system in the study area will be used as natural barriers against storm...

The impact of evaporation data calibration on regional hydrological model performance: A case study of the Geul, the Netherlands

Climate change-induced changes in weather patterns call for the development of hydrological models that perform well under increasingly extreme and varied conditions. Multiple research studies have demonstrated that hydrological models perform poorly when applied to climate conditions that differ from those during the calibration period of the...

Extreme Waves in the North Sea: Deriving extreme wave conditions applying Hierarchical Clustering and Non-Stationary Extreme Value Modelling

Coastal and offshore infrastructure must be designed to withstand extreme wave-induced loading conditions. Extreme Value Analysis (EVA) is often employed to infer probabilistic distributions that provide information about extreme design conditions. In traditional practices, EVA is performed under the assumption of stationarity. This means that...

New breakwater of Genoa: Application of a vine-copula model in probabilistic design

The authorities of the Port of Genoa have requested the construction of a new vertical breakwater for the Sampierdarena canal, as well as the subsequent demolition of part of the existing breakwater. The reason for this project is the need to expand the size of the canal, to allow larger vessels to safely use it. A choice is made for a vertical...

Effects of flexible water level management on flood risk in areas outside primary levees around the IJsselmeer and Markermeer

Since 2019, Rijkswaterstaat has been applying flexible water level management in the IJsselmeer and Markermeer to make the Dutch water system more robust and future proof. The fixed target water level of -0.20 m NAP during summer is replaced by a flexible water level in which the water level can fluctuate between -0.10 and -0.30 m NAP to enlarge...

The flooding of the Kampereiland during storm and discharge induced breaching

The Kampereiland is an island located at the south eastern part of the IJsselmeer in the middle of the Netherlands. This island serves a purpose to lower water levels in the IJssel- and Vechtdelta during high water, by being inundated. This inundation is meant to result in lower water levels in the IJssel near Kampen. However, the flooding of...

Recognizing critically damaged quay wall structures using a three-dimensional numerical model

Many quay walls in Amsterdam have surpassed their structural lifetime and have started showing signs of damage. The city of Amsterdam is currently tackling the problem and have published a plan of action. This plan includes the renovation of hundreds of kilometres of quay walls. Given this enormous amount, it is necessary to prioritize certain...

What is the potential of using Sentinel-1 and Sentinel-2 data to map farmer-led irrigated agriculture with machine learning?: 
A case study in Central Mozambique

Smallholder farmers cultivate more than 75% of the available agricultural land in Africa and therefore this form of agriculture is crucial to the global food supply. At present, little is known about these smallholder agricultural and related irrigation practices, yet the increasing availability and accessibility of remotely sensed data provides...

River system behaviour along the river IJssel

This master thesis is about the positive effects of river system behaviour along the river IJssel. Due to failure of the flood defences along the IJssel, the protected areas will flood and water will flow out of the river. The discharge in the river will decrease and thus the water level at the downstream ends of the river will also decrease....