The offshore seabed of coastal seas such as the North Sea is dynamic. This can be seen from the variety of bedforms, such as ripples, megaripples, tidal sand waves and tidal sandbanks. From these bedforms, megaripples (with wavelengths in the order of tens of meters and heights of tens of centimetres) have received little attention in the literature. This is due to their relatively short spatial scales and highly dynamic nature, making observational studies difficult and requiring a high data resolution in both space and time. Furthermore, it is difficult, if not impossible, to reproduce megaripples adequately in a laboratory setting. Nevertheless, megaripples are important in marine morphodynamics, e.g. for sand wave dynamics.
Due to the recent developments in offshore wind, unique data sets have become available for wind farms in the North Sea. These data sets consist of bathymetries of high resolution in space (0.5 m) and time (several tracks surveyed repeatedly within several months; see Figs. 1 and 2).
The goal of this MSc-project is to understand, from observations, how megaripples in various settings. Specifically, you will:
- …explore the various datasets in search for megaripples
- …detect megaripples and analyse their characteristics and dynamics
- …link megaripple dynamics to environmental parameters, such as the characteristics of theforcing (typically storm events), underlying topography, etc..
This project forms a first step towards a physics-based understanding of megaripple dynamics.
Offer and Requirements
As MSc student on this project, you will primarily work from the Svašek office in Rotterdam. We offer a working space at a pleasant engineering company and active supervision and guidance by experienced engineers/researchers. As part of this project, an internship fee and travel allowance are included.
We are looking for a candidate who:
- has an affinity with the physics and morphology of coastal seas;
- has sound numerical/programming skills for data management and data analysis;
- is independent, takes initiative and is up for a challenge.
Supervision
This is a joint project between Svašek Hydraulics (Rotterdam) and the University of Twente. You will be stationed at Svašek Hydraulics; supervision will be done by both parties in close collaboration.
Are you interested in this assignment? Contact the Master thesis coordinator.
