Awarded a RUBICON postdoctoral grant from the Netherlands Organisation for Scientific Research (NWO) and Marie Curie Cofund Actions, Florent Grasso has joined the Coastal Research Group for two years. His research project investigates “Turbulence and sand transport under breaking waves”. read more

Amanda Sancho García visited Utrecht for 3 months as part of her PhD at the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM) in Barcelona, Spain. During her stay, she studied the inundation which occurs during severe storms at Noordwijk beach, The Netherlands, using video images (Argus) and numerical modelling (XBeach). read more

Mussel beds are important biogenic structures in the intertidal and subtidal environment of the (Dutch) Wadden Sea. Mussel beds are partly able to stabilize the substrate of the Wadden Sea, to improve the water quality, to establish important habitats for many (benthic) species and to provide food for water birds and other organisms. The coastal research group of Utrecht University will focus on the physical/hydrodynamical processes and conditions that can play a decisive role in the development of stable mussel beds. read more

Nearshore sandbars often exhibit remarkable alongshore-periodic undulations in their height and cross-shore position. These so-called crescentic sandbars are characterised by horizontal flow patterns with rip currents. During storm periods, the sandbars are almost immediately straightened again due to strong undertow currents. In double-barred systems, the shape of the outer bar may govern the evolution of the inner bar, introducing coupled patterns. In this project field observations (video images) and numerical models are combined to determine the conditions under which the outer crescentic sandbar (a) controls the morphology of the inner bar and (b) is reshaped into a shore-parallel linear bar. read more

The wave and current flume of the laboratory for physical geography is a flume for studying waves and currents in a controlled environment. The flume is available for educational purposes and research. Academic research experiments can be performed at low costs, and secondary school experiments are free of charge. read more