Please contact Ayi Tarya for more info on this project.

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

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

Bifurcations distribute water, sediment and contaminants over distributaries in deltas. The aim of this study is to develop and test a bifurcation stability model for time-scales of 10¹-10³yr, in which water and sediment is distributed depending on both local (e.g., meandering, bifurcation planform) and regional controls (e.g., climate, base-level). Bifurcations are key elements in delta evolution on time-scales of 10²-10³yr and river flooding mitigation on time-scales of 10¹-10²yr. read more