Modelling wave group-scale hydrodynamics on orthogonal unstructured meshes

An unstructured hydrodynamic model is presented that is able to simulate 2D nearshore hydrodynamics on the wave group scale. A non-stationary wave driver with directional spreading, with physics similar to XBeach (Roelvink et al., 2009) is linked to an improved and extended version of the existing unstructured flow solver Delft3D–FM (Kernkamp et al., 2011; Martyr-Koller et al., 2017). The model equations are discretised on meshes consisting of triangular and rectangular elements. The model allows for coverage of the model domain with locally optimised resolution to accurately resolve the dominant processes, yet with a smaller total number of grid cells. The model also allows a larger explicit time step, compared to structured models with similar functionality. The model reliably reproduces measured datasets of water levels, sea/swell and low frequency wave heights in laboratory and field conditions, and is as such widely deployable in a variety of simple and complex coastal settings to study nearshore hydrodynamics

Coastal flood risks and seasonal tourism: analysing the effects of tourism dynamics on casualty calculations

Since coastal tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of tourism industry, coastal areas have become increasingly vulnerable in the case of flooding. While in recent years a number of different methods have been put forward to map coastal flood risks, the implications of tourism dynamics for the assessment of human casualties has remained largely overlooked in these models. This chapter examines to what extent the ignorance of ( residential) coastal tourism may bias the calculations of human casualties. To this end, a case study has been conducted on the Belgian coast. Both the dynamic nature of coastal tourism and the behaviour of residential tourists in storm surge scenarios are considered. The results of this study show that including tourism dynamics in flood risk management is justified and appropriate, depending on the tourist attractiveness of the flood-prone area and its temporal fluctuations

Steps to Develop Early Warning Systems and Future Scenarios of Storm Wave-Driven Flooding Along Coral Reef-Lined Coasts

ABSTRACT: Tropical coral reef-lined coasts are exposed to storm wave-driven flooding. In the future, flood events during storms are expected to occur more frequently and to be more severe due to sea-level rise, changes in wind and weather patterns, and the deterioration of coral reefs. Hence, disaster managers and coastal planners are in urgent need of decision-support tools. In the short-term, these tools can be applied in Early Warning Systems (EWS) that can help to prepare for and respond to impending storm-driven flood events. In the long-term, future scenarios of flooding events enable coastal communities and managers to plan and implement adequate risk-reduction strategies. Modeling tools that are used in currently available coastal flood EWS and future scenarios have been developed for open-coast sandy shorelines, which have only limited applicability for coral reef-lined shorelines. The tools need to be able to predict local sea levels, offshore waves, as well as their nearshore transformation over the reefs, and translate this information to onshore flood levels. In addition, future scenarios require long-term projections of coral reef growth, reef composition, and shoreline change. To address these challenges, we have formed the UFORiC (Understanding Flooding of Reef-lined Coasts) working group that outlines its perspectives on data and model requirements to develop EWS for storms and scenarios specific to coral reef-lined coastlines. It reviews the state-of-the-art methods that can currently be incorporated in such systems and provides an outlook on future improvements as new data sources and enhanced methods become available

Changes in thyroid hormone levels in chicken liver during fasting and refeeding

In chickens, fasting results in increased plasma thyroxine (T(4)) levels and decreased plasma 3,5,3'-triiodothyronine (T(3)) levels. Refeeding, in turn, restores normal plasma T(3) and T(4) levels. The liver is an important tissue for the regulation of circulating thyroid hormone levels. Previous studies demonstrated that the increase in hepatic type III deiodinase in fasted chickens plays a role in the decrease of plasma T(3). Another factor that could be important is the level of T(4) and T(3) uptake by the liver. In mammals, caloric restriction is known to diminish transport of T(4) and T(3) into tissues. The present study examines whether this is also the case in chicken. Four-week-old chickens were subjected to a 24-h starvation period followed by refeeding. Blood and liver samples were collected at the start of refeeding and at different times of refeeding. Thyroid hormone levels were measured directly in plasma and in tissues following extraction. The results demonstrate that intrahepatic T(4) levels are increased and T(3) levels are decreased in fasted compared to ad libitum fed chickens. The parallel changes in plasma and hepatic T(3) and T(4) content demonstrate that T(4) availability in liver tissue is not diminished during fasting, suggesting that in chicken thyroid hormone uptake by the liver is not affected by nutritional status.status: publishe

Reduced complexity modeling of shoreline response behind offshore breakwaters

Prediction of the shoreline response behind offshore breakwaters is essential for coastal protection projects. Due to the complexity of the processes behind the breakwaters (e.g., wave diffraction, currents, longshore transport), detailed modelling needs high computational efforts. Therefore, simplifying the process effect in a simpler coastline model could be efficient. In this study, the coastline evolution model ShorelineS is used. A new routine was implemented in the model to adjust the wave heights and angles behind the offshore breakwaters. Two approaches from the literature and a newly introduced one were tested in this study. The model free grid system was used to simply track the breaker line; such an advantage also helped to form tombolo, which is not common for these types of models. The tests showed promising results for single and multi breakwaters systems; however, the newly introduced approach still needs further testing and refinement for better performance and less computational cost

Variations in the Wave Climate and Sediment Transport Due to Climate Change along the Coast of Vietnam

This study quantifies the climate change (CC)-driven variations in wave characteristics and the resulting variations in potential longshore sediment transport rate along the ~2000 km mainland coast of Vietnam. Wind fields derived from global circulation models (GCM) for current and future (2041–2060 and 2081–2100) climate conditions are used to force a numerical wave model (MIKE21 SW) to derive the deep water wave climate. The offshore wave climate is translated to nearshore wave conditions using another numerical model (Simulating WAves Nearshore—SWAN) and finally, a sediment transport model (GENEralized model for Simulating Shoreline Change—GENESIS) is used to estimate potential sediment transport for current and future climate conditions. Results indicate that CC effects are substantially different in the northern, central and southern parts of the coast of Vietnam. The 2081–2100 mean significant wave height along the northern coast is estimated to be up to 8 cm lower (relative to 1981–2000), while projections for central and southern coasts of Vietnam indicate slightly higher (increases of up to 5 cm and 7 cm respectively). Wave direction along the northern coast of Vietnam is projected to shift by up to 4° towards the south (clockwise) by 2081–2100 (relative to 1981–2000), up to 6° clockwise along the central coast and by up to 8° anti-clockwise (to the north) along the southern coast. The projected potential longshore sediment transport rates show very substantial and spatially variable future changes in net transport rates along the coast of Vietnam, with increases of up to 0.5 million m3/year at some locations (by 2081–2100 relative to 1981–2000), implying major changes in future coastline position and/or orientation. The vicinity of the highly developed city of Da Nang is likely to be particularly subject to coastline changes, with potentially an additional 875,000 m3 of sand being transported away from the area per year by the turn of the 21st century