The Western Scheldt is the only remaining open natural estuary of the Delta coast in the southwest Netherlands. The mouth of the estuary forms the connection with the North Sea. This area is a Nature2000 area and is characterized by a dynamic system of channels and shoals. The largest low-lying area in the mouth is called the Vlakte van de Raan, see also Figure 1a.
In the summer of 2025 a nourishment has been placed at the south side of the Vlakte van de Raan (Figure 1b). The nourishment consists of two elements and has a total volume of about 1 million m3. Besides the fact that the nourishment contributes to the maintenance of the coast, the goal of the nourishment is i) increase the knowledge about nourishing in ebb tidal deltas and i) develop new knowledge about the effect of the nourishment on the local hydrodynamics and morphology.
To achieve these goals, a monitoring campaign has been set up before and after nourishing. This consists amongst others of ADCP (velocity) measurements from frames and ships and detailed multibeam (1x1m) bathymetries of the area of interest.
The aim of this master thesis is to quantify and understand how this nourishment develops over time and how it affects the (local) hydrodynamics and morphology. You will answer these questions by a combination of data analysis and Delft3D Flexible Mesh numerical modeling.
Figure 1: (a) Location of the mouth of the Scheldt estuary in the southwest of the Netherlands. (b) Zoom of the mouth of the Scheldt estuary with the nourishment locations (in red).
Supervision
Are you interested in this assignment? Contact the Master thesis coordinator:
