Rip current predictions through model-data assimilation on two distinct beaches

This paper describes the development of a physics-based rip current prediction system called CoSMoS. This system consists of a hydrodynamic prediction system which is composed of a train of surge and wave models from the global scale to the scale of a beach resort (order kilometers). For the beach resort scale model, it is of utmost importance...

The tidal wave system in the Chinese marginal seas

A 2D large-scale tidal wave model is set up for the Chinese marginal seas and it is proved to simulate the tidal motion in this large domain well. Based on the model, sensitivity analyses have been carried out to investigate the influences of various factors on the tidal wave system. According to the results, the effect of river discharges and...

A numerical study of mixing and stratification dynamics in the Ria de Arousa estuary (nw Spain) during summer

In this paper we explore the role of the river run-off, the tidal regime and the local winds in the dynamics of the Ria de Arousa estuary during the summer period, using for that purpose the numerical model Delft3D. First of all, a simulation under real hydrological and meteorological conditions is conducted in order to validate the ability of...

Input reduction for long-term morphodynamic simulations

Input reduction is imperative to long-term (> years) morphodynamic simulations to avoid excessive computation times. Here, we discuss the input-reduction framework for wave-dominated coastal settings introduced by Walstra et al. (2013). The framework comprised 4 steps, viz. (1) the selection of the duration of the original (full) time series of...

Monitoring morphology of the sand engine leeside using Argus' cBathy

The Sand Engine is a mega-nourishment constructed in 2011 with the purpose of replenishing the surrounding southern Dutch coast by exploiting the strength of local alongshore currents for the next 20 years. Long term monitoring of the Sand Engine depends upon remote sensing coupled with in-situ measurements due to both its large spatial and...

The influence of hydrodynamic forcing on sediment transport pathways and shoreline evolution in a coral reef environment

Monitoring of beach surface properties with remote sensing

Existing aeolian transport formulae tend to overestimate the sediment transport volumes in coastal environments. Supply limiting factors like moisture content, shell patches, sediment sorting, vegetation and morphological features are believed to explain these overestimations. These supply limitations act on a variety of spatio-temporal scales...

EBB-tidal delta morphology in response to a storm surge barrier

The ebb-tidal delta of the Eastern Scheldt tidal inlet has been under the influence of a storm surge barrier for the past 25 years. This barrier caused a strong decrease in average tidal currents through the inlet. The morphological response of the ebb-tidal delta is characterized by several different processes: (1) an overall decrease in...

Modelling aeolian sediment accumulations on a beach

This paper aims to conceptually simulate observed spatial and temporal variability in aeolian sediment transport rates, erosion and deposition on a beach. Traditional strategies of modeling aeolian sediment transport rates do not account for supply limitations that are common on natural beaches. A recently developed 1D linear advection model is...

Advection and diffusion of shore-attached sand nourishments

Understanding of the behaviour of coastline perturbations at soft-coastlines is essential for modelling coastal evolution at decadal time scales. Many coastline models do, for example, implicitly assume dominant diffusive behaviour of coastline features. The validity of this assumption is investigated for the Dutch coast on the basis of data on...

Individual wave height distributions in the coastal zone: Measurements and simulations and the effect of directional spreading

Characteristics of the individual wave height distribution in shallow water have been investigated using measured wave data and results of numerical simulations using the non-hydrostatic SWASH model. It is shown that the SWASH model is capable of reproducing the temporal and spatial variation of surface elevation in a wave flume and the...

Does a more sophisticated storm erosion model improve probabilistic erosion estimates?

The dependency between the accuracy/uncertainty of storm erosion exceedance estimates obtained via a probabilistic model and the level of sophistication of the structural function (storm erosion model) embedded in the probabilistic model is assessed via the application of Callaghan et al.'s (2008) Joint Probability Model (JPM) at Narrabeen beach...

The genesis of the radial tidal current off the Central Jiangsu Coast

One of the characteristics of the radial sand ridge field (RSRF) in the South Yellow Sea off the Jiangsu coast is the distinctive radial tidal current field. Although many studies have focused on the hydrodynamic environment around radial sand ridges, the knowledge on the genesis of the radial tidal current is still in a very basic stage. This...

Influence of profile features on longshore sediment transport

Longshore sediment transport (LST) is one of the main drivers of beach morphology. Bulk LST formulas are routinely used in coastal management/engineering studies to assess LST rates and gradients. However, there is still great uncertainty in LST estimation with these bulk formulas. This uncertainty may have two sources: 1) experimental errors in...

Alongshore topographic variability at a nourished beach

The present paper examines the generation and inter-annual evolution of alongshore variability in topography measured after the implementation of a sand nourishment. The magnitude of the topographic variability is quantified using 3.5 years of monthly survey data. The emergence and temporal change in alongshore morphological variability is...

The sand engine: A solution for vulnerable deltas in the 21st century?

The Netherlands’ strategy to combat coastal erosion since 1990 has been through nourishment, initially as beach nourishments but more and more as shoreface nourishments. In the light of sea level rise projections the yearly nourishment magnitudes continue to increase. In view of this an innovative soft engineering intervention, comprising an...

Morphological modelling of strongly curved islands

Land reclamations and island coasts often involve strongly curved shorelines, which are challenging to be properly modeled by numerical morphological models. Evaluation of the long term development of these types of coasts as well as their response to storm conditions requires proper representation of the governing physical processes. Not all...