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 (alongshore ridges of sand in 2 - 10 m water depth typical of microtidal, storm-dominated coasts) serve as a natural protection for beaches by causing waves to break away from the shoreline. Cross-shore sandbar behavior is governed by the feedback between nonlinear hydrodynamics, sediment transport and the sandbar itself. Predictions of sandbar behavior with sophisticated numerical models are inherently uncertain because of a sensitive dependence on initial conditions and model inadequacies. This project aims to quantify these uncertainties and to determine its relevant source by means of embedding the traditional single-forecasts in a probabilistic (ensemble) environment and ensemble data-assimilation techniques. 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

This project aims to reconstruct the transgression of the fluvial valley, with emphasis on the interlinked response of the coastal and fluvial to rapid sea-level rise. To do so, beside collecting new data, existing subsurface data from many different sources are integrated in a single database. With this data, past sea levels and the development of the study area are reconstructed. Using the results, sequence stratigraphic models will be tested. read more