Inaugural address of Prof. Dano Roelvink, 12 October

How to prevent erosion, deal with land reclamation and develop the best possible flood protection will be the main topics of his address, as well as the role that analytical, empirical and process-based numerical models play in these processes.

Professor Roelvink will also explain the research advances of the Morphos-3D project, a project that brings together models, modellers and data on hurricane winds, storm surges, wave generation and nearshore processes. Together with colleagues from Delft Hydraulics, Delft University and the University of Miami, UNESCO-IHE was asked to contribute to this project by developing an open-source model, ‘XBeach’.

This model can predict nearshore waves and currents, dune erosion (scarping), overwashing and eventually breaching of barrier islands. The XBeach can be used as stand-alone model for small-scale coastal applications, but will also be used within the Morphos model system to simulate coastal erosion during hurricanes.

Prof. Roelvink has 20 years of experience in coastal engineering and research. He has managed the development of the Delft3D model system for two- and three-dimensional simulation of waves, currents, water quality, ecology and morphodynamics, and is currently in charge of further development of the morphological part of this system. He has been actively involved in the EU-sponsored MaST-G6M and MaST-G8M, SASME, COAST3D and DELOS research projects on coastal morphodynamics, amongst others as member of the SASME steering group. His field of expertise is in coastal hydrodynamics and morphodynamics modelling.