Projected climate-change impacts on the flow partitioning in the bifurcation region in the upper Rhine delta
M. Kifayath Chowdhury (TU Delft - Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineering)
A Blom (TU Delft - Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineering)
C. Ylla Arbós (AXA Climate)
RMJ Schielen (TU Delft - Rivers, Ports, Waterways and Dredging Engineering, Rijkswaterstaat)
More Info
expand_more
Other than for strictly personal use, it is not permitted to download, forward or distribute the text or part of it, without the consent of the author(s) and/or copyright holder(s), unless the work is under an open content license such as Creative Commons.
Abstract
In engineered river systems such as the Dutch Rhine, bifurcation dynamics play a crucial role in providing flood safety, freshwater supply, and inland navigation. While regulation measures in the past caused bed erosion (Ylla Arb´os et al., 2021) and peak discharges may have caused changes in flow partitioning (Chowdhury et al., 2023) at the bifurcation points, climate change is expected to further alter hydrological patterns, impacting sediment transport and increasing bed erosion (Ylla Arb´os et al., 2023) as well as affecting flow partitioning again. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of climate change on the Dutch Rhine bifurcation system over the next 150 years, focusing on hydrograph variations, sea level rise, and the influence of past engineering interventions. Understanding these dynamics is critical for future river management and adaptation strategies.