A study of the erosion problem along Rosslare Strand

A study of the erosion problem along Rosslare Strand

Zweers, S.A.

Stive, M.J.F. (mentor)
Labeur, R.J. (mentor)
Wang, Z.B. (mentor)
Sokolewicz, M.J. (mentor)
Peters, G. (mentor)

Civil Engineering and Geosciences

2008-07-18

The Rosslare and Wexford area has been subject to major changes over the past 150 years. This change has most manifested itself in the form of ongoing coastal erosion, which now has reached a level that essential infrastructure is at risk. The clay cliffs south of the beach are eroding at a rate of 1 m a year, while the erosion along the sandy beach is even greater. To counteract this erosion, 12 rock groynes were constructed at the northern part of the beach. To determine the possible causes of this erosion, the hydraulic conditions are analysed. In the wave analysis, offshore wave conditions are obtained from WAM simulations. After a statistical analysis, these conditions are transferred to the shore using the program SWAN. This SWAN model computes the nearshore wave climate. The flow conditions and tide-induced sediment transport are analysed with a 2-dimensional flow model constructed with Delft3D. In this flow model, different scenarios are simulated. This makes it possible to determine the influence of the harbour and the reclamation on the flow conditions and tide-induced sediment transport. The actual sediment transport capacity resulting from the computed wave- and flow conditions are calculated with UNIBEST-LT. With defined cross-shore profiles along Rosslare Strand, these capacities give valuable information about the sediment balance of the beach.

erosion

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:08b27ffb-39a6-4b65-80bd-0fbeec12ef60

TU Delft, Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Hydraulic Engineering

Student theses

master thesis

(c) 2008 S.A. Zweers