Large Scale Experiments on the Effect of Artificial Reef Restoration on Wave-Driven Flooding

Book Chapter (2026)
Author(s)

Marion Tissier (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)

Vincent Takens (Student TU Delft)

Kjell Albers (Student TU Delft, Deltares)

Gerd Masselink (Plymouth University)

Ad Reniers (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)

Floortje Roelvink (Deltares, Plymouth University)

Robert T. McCall (Deltares)

Samuel T. Rose (University of Bath)

Damien Sous (Université de Pau et des Pays de l'Adour)

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Research Group
Coastal Engineering
DOI related publication
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-15473-6_92 Final published version
More Info
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Publication Year
2026
Language
English
Research Group
Coastal Engineering
Volume number
1
Pages (from-to)
601-606
Publisher
Springer
ISBN (print)
978-3-032-15472-9
ISBN (electronic)
978-3-032-15473-6
Event
Coastal Dynamics 2025 (2025-04-07 - 2025-04-11), Aveiro, Portugal
Page Views
44
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Abstract

This paper presents a new set of experiments conducted at near-prototype scale to investigate the impact of artificial reef flat restoration on wave transformation and runup. The experiments were carried out in the 300m-long Delta Flume, which allowed the representation of the entire fringing reef profile and sandy island at a 1: 3 scale. The reef restoration consisted of rows of complex-shaped roughness elements arranged in different layouts. In total, three configurations were tested under five irregular wave conditions and two water levels. All tests were also repeated on a bare (unrestored) reef flat to assess the impact of the restoration. Preliminary data analysis indicates that the artificial reef restoration reduced significant wave heights by up to 13% near the shore for the high-density restoration configuration and the lowest water level. This reduction in wave height was similar for both the sea-swell and infragravity wave frequency bands. Next steps are to examine how the spectral distribution of the (incident) wave energy is impacted by the reef restoration for the different configurations, relate this to flow observations within the artificial canopy and assess the impact on runup characteristics.