The sediment capture efficiency of a managed realignment polder

The Ems Dollart estuary is facing high levels of turbidity, which hinders the growth of algae and impacts the entire ecosystem. In recent years, turbidity has increased here with 0.5 to 3% per year between 1990 and 2010, corresponding to a doubling of suspended sediment concentration (SSC) within 24 years for the upper bound of 3%. This trend is...

Natural coastal structures to restore eroding mangrove-mud coasts

Degrading mangrove forests and coinciding erosive coastlines is an urgent global concern. Mangroves are essential for their interaction with hydrodynamic and sediment processes at mangrove-mud coasts. Earlier on, solutions were sought in building ’hard’ structures, such as concrete sea walls, to lower incoming wave energy and enhance...

Biogeomorphic modelling of tropical sheltered bays: Assessment of the role of seagrass ecosystems in tropical sheltered bays in the Caribbean

Coastal bays in the Caribbean accommodate different marine ecosystems, including seagrass meadows and coral reefs, which provide important ecosystem services. However, these marine ecosystems are endangered. Seagrass ecosystems have a key role in coastal bays, but despite their alarming rates of loss, they receive little attention compared to...

Beach representation in morphodynamic predictions: Coupling models to improve beach behavior applied to Anmok beach

Numerical process-based morphodynamic models are widespread in coastal engineering practice and have become the new standard when it comes to assessing the impact of natural or man-made structures on coastal environments. The most common practice among engineers is to focus on a single spatial and time scale, which means either neglecting...