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

The sediment loads carried by the Berau river have increased drastically over the past decades, mainly due to deforestation of parts of the hinterland. Part of the terrestrial sediment is transported as suspended load to the barrier reefs, where it may harm coral reef ecosystems. Coral reefs are complex, dynamic, and sensitive systems. Slight changes in the reef environment may have effects on the health of coral reefs. Therefore it is essential to understand and predict how the turbid water form the Berau river mixes over the shelf region and how this influences the dynamics in the coral reef area. 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

Washovers are the morphologial and sedimentological product of overwash. In this project we explore the possibilities of a more natural and dynamic type of shoreline management for the West Frisian barrier islands, the Netherlands. This new approach includes the option to reactivate washovers systems in order i) to create a more dynamic, flexible and sustainable type of coastal behaviour; ii) to increase the sediment budgets of barrier islands to cope with sea level rise and iii) to re-establish more vital and rejuvenated beach-dune-salt marsh ecosystems that demonstrate a high biodiversity. 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