AbstractsEarth & Environmental Science

An assessment on hydro- and morphodynamic proceses at the sand motor during the Decemberstorm of 2013:

by J.G. De Kort




Institution: Delft University of Technology
Department:
Year: 2015
Keywords: sand motor; storm; Delft3D; XBeach
Record ID: 1254246
Full text PDF: http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:e1642ed8-697e-40a2-a0e9-c155c35925b6


Abstract

In 2011 the Sand Motor was realised at the coast of the province of South-Holland as a pilot project combining different functions such as safety, recreation and nature development, following the philosophy of Building with Nature. The idea was to create a mega nourishment that would supply the coastal system between Hook of Holland and Scheveningen with new sediment for the upcoming 20 years. The Sand Motor is being monitored to get more information and knowledge on the behaviour on this type of nourishment since it has been the first one on such a large scale. In the winter of 2013 a couple of heavy storms have passed along the Dutch coast of which the storm of December 5th, from here on referred to as "Decemberstorm" (Dutch: "Sinterklaasstorm"), was the most severe with significant wave heights up to 5.4m. For this storm bathymetrical measurements are available of the pre- and post-storm situation. This gives a unique opportunity to get insight into the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic processes that are important at the Sand Motor during storms. In this study therefore the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic changes during a storm are investigated using the Decemberstorm as a reference case. This study presents an analysis of the Decemberstorm from which the results are partly used as input for the modelling phase and partly to validate the model results. The model study consists of depth averaged and 3D models of the Sand Motor as well as an XBeach model which compares the Sand Motor to a uniform coastline. By comparing the model results with each other and the measurements an analysis is made of how the shape of the Sand Motor influences the processes around the coastline.