Short description and objective of the project:
Fish tend to migrate upstream in rivers for reproduction purposes. This is also the case in Northwestern Europe where fish migrate from the North Sea to the Upper Rhine. The fish that swim upstream through the Nederrijn/Lek encounter three weirs, which obstruct the river connectivity. Despite the fact that fish ladders have been constructed around the weirs, the upstream fish migration remains significantly hindered. In addition to blocking the fish migration, the weirs also limit the flow discharge, which further influences the fish migration patterns in the Nederrijn /Lek. The fish migration behaviour around the weirs and the fish ladders has been monitored with VEMCO sensors and PIT tags. This research project aims to investigate if these fish behaviour data can be related to flow variables such as mean flow velocity patterns and turbulence metrics, and if so, how do such abiotic factors influence fish migration. Modeling and understanding the flow field near the weir and the fish ladder will be part of the project. The modeling will be done by extending an existing computational fluid mechanics (CFD) model of one of the weirs where the fish ladder needs to be incorporated in the schematization. Subsequently, different scenarios will be run to investigate the flow dynamics and connect them to fish migration behaviour. This graduation project is within the HydroFish framework, which aims to link fish migration behaviour to flow patterns around hydraulic structures.
We are looking for an enthusiastic student who is interested in interdisciplinary research by combining hydrodynamic modeling with fish migration behaviour, is proactive and can work independently but also be a team member. The research will be based at Deltares in Delft and an allowance will be available.
References (optional):
Head Graduation Committee:
Daily Supervisors:
