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Hydrodynamics of the coastal and estuarine
zone
The coastal zone is a very dynamic region. If forms the
boundary between land and sea. Many activities take place and not seldom
they are in conflict. It is often densily populated. It is attractive
for tourism. It is economically of great importance with dense ship
traffic to and from harbors. It has many natural resources, like fish,
sand and gravel for the construction industry, space for wind farming,
...Due to the large physical gradients (wet-dry, salt-fresh, ...) also
biodiversity is great, but threatened by the pressure of antropogenic
activities. Knowledge of the physical characteristics is one of the
many essential aspects for sustainable development of the coastal zone.
Build-up and transfer of know-how through research is therefore a key
activity.
Hydrodynamic research is mainly project based, but can
roughly be divided in:
- wave and current modelling more for design purposes: extremes, joint probabilities, climate change scenario's, ...
- wave and current modelling more for operational purposes: wave climate, (pre)-operational models for storm surge and waves, ...
- wave and current modelling more for studying fundamental aspects of coastal zone processes: sediment transport under currents and waves,
wave-current interaction in regions of fresh water influence, hydrodynamics for tidal flats, ...
- measurements of hydrodynamic parameters: currents, waves, salinity, temperature, SPM, ..
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Projects
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