Storm hindcast January 2010 - Analysis of the application of radar current data for hindcast purposes

Storm hindcast January 2010 - Analysis of the application of radar current data for hindcast purposes

Swinkels, C.M.

Rijkswaterstaat

SBW

2010-01-21

One of the unresolved issues regarding the performance of SWAN in the Wadden Sea is the penetration of North Sea waves into the tidal inlet systems. For accurate modelling of the complex processes in these areas, the underlying water level and current fields should be of good quality. The hydrodynamic modelling to generate water level and current fields as input for the wave model has been subject of investigation in several studies, with the aim to improve the model performance with respect to computed water levels and currents. Validation and calibration against in-situ water level data showed that the propagation of the vertical tide (water levels) is generally modelled accurately. However, a thorough calibration and validation of the horizontal tide (currents) was hampered by a scarcity of data. Since the beginning of 2010, analysis software is deployed on the X-band ship’s radar on the island of Ameland in the Wadden Sea, overlooking the Amelander Zeegat. The software (SeaDarQ) derives spatial information on waves, water depths and currents from the radar images. This new data source provides the unique opportunity to assess the spatial propagation pattern of waves and currents over the tidal inlet. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the performance of Delft3D-Flow in hindcasting currents in the Amelander Zeegat during a storm event, using the remote sensed observations (radar data) of the current fields. Furthermore, the study aim was to assess the quality of the radar data (currents and bathymetry) and evaluate the potential of the use of radar data within future SBW projects. For this purpose, first the radar bathymetrical and current data was thoroughly analyzed. Next, a storm that occurred in January 2010 was hindcasted following the standard SBW approach. A comparison was then made between the modelled and remote-sensed current velocities and magnitudes. Finally, a number of sensitivity simulations were performed to investigate the sensitivity of the model performance to various model parameters.

radar
wave data
hindcast
Waddenzee

TLJ200520

http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:f00c56bc-b4a0-4ace-a1a7-a810fa0f21b1

Deltares

Deltares report 1202119-001-HYE-0003 for Rijkswaterstaat, Waterdienst

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