Dutch experience with sand nourishments for dynamic coastline conservation – An operational overview

The Dutch coast is one of the most heavily nourished coasts globally. An average of 12 mln. m3 is annually added to the coastline of only 432 km for dynamic coastline conservation. This study provides an overview of the operational aspects of the more than 300 nourishments for coastline maintenance that have been performed since the 1990s and...

Observations and modelling of shoreface nourishment behaviour

Shoreface nourishments are commonly applied for coastal maintenance, but their behaviour is not well understood. Bathymetric data of 19 shoreface nourishments located at alongshore uniform sections of the Dutch coast were therefore analyzed and used to validate an efficient method for predicting the erosion of shoreface nourishments. Data shows...

Sediment- and morphodynamics of shoreface nourishments along the North-Holland coast

The Dutch coastal maintenance policy which was implemented in 1990 aims at fighting structural erosion by nourishing sand. Initially, the beaches were nourished. The lifetime of these beach nourishments turned out to be relatively short (~2 yrs), especially at identified erosion ‘hotspots’ along the North-Holland coast (e.g. Egmond aan Zee)....

Experimental study investigating various shoreface nourishment designs

This experimental study focuses on the morphological development of a near-equilibrium profile on which to types of shoreface nourishments are placed. As previous studies have indicated that the efficiency of nourishments is mainly influenced by water depth in which they are constructed, two cross-shore locations are considered for an accretive...

Modelling rhythmic morphology in the surf zone

Coastal erosion is increasingly being prevented by the application of shoreface nourishments. Although they are applied successfully, their development and their impact on the coastal system is still difficult to predict. Especially the effects of shoreface nourishments on the already existing rhythmic bed forms in the surf zone are unknown. The...