Braiding rivers are characterised as highly dynamic, and experience annual morphological changes in plan- form. This dynamic nature of the river leads to navigational hindrance and risk of unstable bifurcation points where discharge distributions might switch. In pilot studies, porcupines have shown promising results in re- tarding the flow and cause sediment deposition near river banks to prevent bank erosion. However the aim now becomes to apply the porcupines on a much larger scale to increase the channel roughness and influ- ence discharge distributions of bifurcation points such that the flow is mainly diverted to the channel where the highest discharge is required. This way the main channel receives the largest discharge and therefore sedimentation in these channels is prevented. Currently it is not known how porcupines should be modelled in a numerical model. It is simply assumed that porcupines can be modelled similar to vegetation which is schematised as rigid cylinders with a certain density, drag coefficient and resulting representative roughness. No measurements are available to validate the assumed roughness of porcupines and if the hydro- and mor- phodynamic behaviour, represented by the model, is true. In this thesis laboratory experiments are conducted to assess the near-field hydro- and morphodynamic ef- fect of porcupines and generate more knowledge about their behaviour. Experiments with a concrete bottom give a detailed insight in the hydrodynamic behaviour of porcupines without the interference of bedforms and morphological developments. Experiments with a sediment bottom give more insight in the morpho- logical development and flow patterns over time which clearly influenced the initial hydraulic behaviour. Experiments are conducted in a 12 metre long and 0.8 metre wide flume with a recirculating pump. The wa- ter level, discharge, density of the porcupine field and configuration of the field are systematically varied to identify the dependences on the drag and sedimentation/erosion volumes in the near-field domain of the porcupines. Additionally, general observations are performed, describing the flow structures and sedimenta- tion patterns in and around the porcupine field. From fixed-bed experiments it is observed how the flow is retarded by the presence of porcupines. Flow is pushed around the field in both transverse and vertical direction. Behind the porcupines, longitudinal flow vectors are downward directed and the flow velocity near the bed is significantly reduced. It is observed that staggered porcupine grids help to retard the flow stronger and captures sediment behind the field in wider strokes. Non-staggered grids only work effectively in the line of porcupines. Between those lines barely any retardation is observed and therefore only narrow strokes of sedimentation are observed behind the lines of porcupines. The reduction in flow velocity behind the porcupines is similar to the velocity reductions ob- served in experiments with vegetation. The velocity retardation is gradually restored in longitudinal direction where the effect of porcupines gradually diminishes. For different experiments this deceleration of the flow has been observed and it follows a linear trend line, that by means of extrapolation can be used to quantify the effective retardation length in longitudinal direction. Water level differences over the porcupine field are observed indicating loss of energy, and pushing up the water level upstream. Porcupines can effectively in- fluence bifurcation points in braiding rivers this way. The local water level gradient over the porcupine field, combined with the velocity measurements, is used to determine the drag and representative roughness of the porcupines by using the equations of Baptist. The obtained values for the roughness are validated by sim- ulating the flume in SOBEK with the corresponding roughness coefficients. Comparing the measured water levels with the computed water levels by the model gave a relatively good fit indicating that porcupines can be schematised by the equations of Baptist with a few adjustments. The Reynolds stresses give an indication of the height of the bed shear stresses. Measurements show that the shear stress in the near-bed region behind the porcupines is lower or the same compared to the undisturbed velocity profile. Lower bed shear stresses indicate a reduction in sediment transport and is therefore an important mechanism to reduce the bedload sediment transport. Mobile-bed experiments show clear erosion patterns inside the porcupine field due to the increased turbu- lence intensity generated by the porcupines themselves. For the experiment with low water levels and high flow velocities erosion is observed to be most severe, whereas in experiments with lower field density an overall sedimentation is observed inside the porcupine field. Due to the erosion porcupines sink into the bed significantly reducing their effectiveness on retarding the flow. To prevent scour larger spacing between the porcupines seems beneficial. A growing sedimentation ridge behind the porcupines is observed that influ- ences the flow retardation even stronger, enhancing further sedimentation. Once maximum sedimentation height is reached, the ridge will migrate downstream as a growing sedimentation bar gradually sloping down towards its initial bed level. This length scale of the sedimentation bar is comparable with the retardation length scale. Combined with the migration rate of the sedimentation bar an estimation of the time scales can be obtained. Based on the mobile-bed experiments it is concluded that least erosion within the field is beneficial and therefore low water levels and high flow velocities should be avoided. Although initial results show that porcupines show similar behaviour compared to vegetation and that the roughness can be estimated by using the equations of Baptist it has become clear that there are still major differences between the behaviour of vegetation and porcupines. Therefore further research is required to improve schematisations of porcupine behaviour, especially to improve the schematisation of the sediment transport around porcupines since no descriptions are yet available.

This thesis research has been conducted to analyse the sediment dynamics in the Yangon Estuary, in order to define the cause for the sedimentation in Monkey Point Channel. For years, Yangon Port has been suffering from limited accessibility due to the sedimentation in the channel and currently daily dredging is required in order to let ships enter the port. The main characteristics of Yangon Estuary are; tidal range of 6 m, high suspended sediment concentrations (up to 6 g/l), a monsoon climate and the presence of a confluence within the tidal range. Research to the cause of sedimentation is done by making a conceptual model of the estuary based on a study area analysis and a literature study to estuarine, riverine and sediment processes. In addition, numerical models are used to improve the conceptual model in a quantitative manner. The conceptual model resulted in the following findings. The fluctuations in SSC are dominantly determined by the tide. During the monsoon season suspended sediment is brought in the system mainly by the Yangon River discharge, causing for averaged SSC values of 1 g/l during the season. In dry season, the SSC shows a fortnightly rhythm caused by the spring/neap cycle. Strong spring tidal currents cause for high bed shear stresses on the shoals, exceeding 1 N/m2, which erodes the stationary fluid mud layers. Due to the dispersion of the mud, the SSC rises rapidly up to 5 g/l. During neap tides the bed shear stress is much less, enabling the fine sediments to settle on the shoals and restore the fluid mud layers. Hence, the SSC values reduce to less than 0.5 g/l. During the monsoon, the spring flood current is reduced due to the seaward directed river discharge. Therefore, the spring flood currents are insufficient to erode the stationary fluid mud layers, hence the SSC are less than during spring tide in the dry season. In contrast to the fluctuations in erosion and deposition of mud on the shoals, almost continuously deposition and consolidation of mud is possible in Monkey Point Channel. This is possible because the channel is located in the stagnation-zone where both during flood (bifurcation) and ebb (confluence) the flow velocities and bed shear stresses sufficiently low to let mud settle. After deposition the mud is not resuspended, and consolidation causes the mud layer to become thicker and become problematic for the ship traffic. To conclude; the combination of high SSC with the possibility of consolidation of deposited mud in the stagnation-zone results in too hard layers to sail through. This potential cause corresponds with the dredged material from the channel bed and the sedimentation rate in the channel. It is recommended to relocate the navigation channel outside the stagnation-zone. The combination of land reclamation at the western estuary bank downstream of the confluence and a dredged channel shows the most promising results. However, more research is required to determine the long-term sedimentation rates in the new channel.

Tidal basins are highly dynamic environments with a complex behavior that is often disturbed by human activities. Considering that tidal dynamics have a direct impact on surrounding engineering infrastructures, adjacent coastlines, nature environment and socio-economic human activities, it is crucial to know the impact of human interventions on these dynamics. This research focuses on the closure of the Gulf of Khambhat in India, which aims at the creation of a fresh water reservoir in the gulf by partly closing the current estuary with the Kalpasar dam. The most recent design of the closure concerns a 30 km dam from the eastern bank near Aladar to the western bank near Bhavnagar. This closure will significantly reduce the total basin area. Consequently, major and morphodynamic changes are expected in the basin. The Kalpasar project has been on the Indian Government's agenda since 1986. Royal HaskoningDHV was involved in the pre-feasibility study, which was presented in the late 1990s. Since then, the existence of a detailed report study has not been confirmed and the status of the announced feasibility studies by the Indian government is unknown. The main objective of this research is to investigate the morphodynamic response at the seaward side of the dam after the closure. A process-based morphodynamic model has been developed to study this response. Deltares and NIOT have provided a two-dimensional (2DH) numerical model of the Gulf of Khambhat to study the tidal propagation in the basin. After calibration and validation of the hydrodynamic predictions, the model has been extended to a morphodynamic model in order to perform morphological calculations. Several adaptations have been made to improve the hydrodynamic simulations of the model; the main contributing factor was the new initial bathymetry. An extensive spin-up simulation has been performed to gather this. To deal with introduced model artefacts, the model results are compared to the reference case. Therefore, two almost identical simulations are performed: the only difference is that one run contains the Kalpasar dam while the other does not. This way, the relative effect of the dam is determined. Moreover, the morphological results have to be interpreted qualitatively, since the predictive skill of the model has not yet been determined. Model results show an overall increase of the tidal range in the basin after the closure, which will have effect up to 100 km from the dam. Close to the dam, the range will initially increase from 7.88 to 10.25 m, and up to 10.50 m after 96 years. Besides, the tidal signal switches from being ebb-dominant to flood-dominant. The velocities around the dam become negligible and the velocities at the main western channel significantly decrease. The eastern channel remains the main channel of the gulf, although its maximum flood- and ebb-velocities also decrease. As a consequence of the hydrodynamic changes, the basin will start importing sediment, directly becoming a sink. On the long term, the area up to 40 km southward of the dam partly fills in. The eastern side of the main channel will also accrete, although its western side will erode over the years. The implementation of the dam will have negative impacts on several locations at the study area. Four vulnerable locations are identified, namely Dahej (India's largest LNG-terminal), Hazira (container terminal), Surat (> 6 million inhabitants) and Alang (largest ship wrecking worldwide). All of these locations will become prone to flooding because of the increased maximum water levels. Moreover, sedimentation at the approach channels of the ports of Dahej and Hazira may hinder their accessibility. The increased water levels at Alang may lead to the suspension of heavily contaminated sediments from these beaches. Furthermore, coastal erosion might be a problem for the entire study area, if the ebb-tidal delta is not large enough to balance the sand hunger of the basin. Relocating the dam is not an effective measure to prevent the negative impacts. Maintenance dredging activities will probably be required to maintain the accessibility of the ports. Moreover, major infrastructural changes will be needed to prevent floods. It is recommended to execute follow up studies with more detailed tools to determine the exact response at these locations. More accurate and up-to-date hydraulic and bathymetric data is required to develop these tools. To this end, it is highly recommended to partner with local parties like the Government of Gujarat, the EAG and local universities.