A new approach to simulate the Ameland inlet's response to sea-level rise and subsidence

The Wadden Sea is the largest system of tidal flats and barrier islands in the world extending from the northern Dutch coast to the coast of Denmark. Such a large natural area is ofgreat importance to bothhuman beings and ecosystems. Over 10,000 species of flora and fauna are found in theWadden Sea being a perfect habitat due to the relatively...

Two-dimensional morphodynamical equilibria in a double inlet system

In this thesis, the foundations are explored for establishing two-dimensional depth-integrated morphodynamical equilibria for a long embayment with two tidal inlets connected to the open sea. Governing water motion, suspended sediment transport and bed evolution equations had to be rederived from the underlying balances, where the tidal inlets...

Stability of intertidal and subtidal areas after Delta21 plan: Evaluating the consequences for the morphological development produced by the interventaion

In recent years, there has been an increasing need for solutions against the threats that SLR and climate change represent for coastal systems, especially in low lying areas like the SW Dutch coast. Simultaneously, awareness of the impacts that human activities have on natural environments has surged. Integrated and sustainable solutions are...

An Idealised Morphodynamic Model of a Tidal Inlet and the Adjacent Sea

Tidal inlet systems are often highly valuable and sometimes even unique ecosystems. However, field measurements show that tidal inlet systems are sensitive to changing exogenous conditions, such as rising sea levels. This thesis aims to investigate to what extent the adjacent sea influences the stability and equilibrium state of the tidal inlet....

Influence of geometrical variations on morphodynamic equilibria in short tidal basins

The existence of cross-sectionally averaged morphodynamic equilibria of tidal inlets is investigated, using a cross-sectionally averaged model, and their sensitivity to variations of geometry, deposition parameter, frictional effects and advective sediment transport is analysed. Different geometries, from exponentially converging to...

Morphodynamics of the Qiantang Estuary, China: Controls of river flood events and tidal bores

The importance of seasonal variations in river discharge on the morphological development of estuaries has been recognized in recent years, yet in situ observations about such variations are rare. Here we report a long-term dataset of bathymetry in the middle reach of the Qiantang Estuary, China, characterized by the presence of a large inner...

The effect of tidal asymmetry and temporal settling lag on sediment trapping in tidal estuaries

Over decades and centuries, the mean depth of estuaries changes due to sea-level rise, land subsidence, infilling, and dredging projects. These processes produce changes in relative roughness (friction) and mixing, resulting in fundamental changes in the characteristics of the horizontal (velocity) and vertical tides (sea surface elevation) and...

Effect of bottom stress formulation on modelled flow and turbidity maxima in cross-sections of tide-dominated estuaries

A three-dimensional numerical model with a prognostic salinity field is used to investigate the effect of a partial slip bottom boundary condition on lateral flow and sediment distribution in a transect of a tidally dominated channel. The transect has a symmetrical Gaussian cross-channel bottom profile. For a deep, well-mixed, tidally dominated...

Modeling equilibrium bed profiles of short tidal embayments: On the effect of the vertical distribution of suspended sediment and the influence of the boundary conditions

In many tidal embayments, bottom patterns, such as the channel-shoal systems of the Wadden Sea, are observed. To gain understanding of the mechanisms that result in these bottom patterns, an idealized model is developed and analyzed for short tidal embayments. In this model, the water motion is described by the depth- and width-averaged shallow...