INET (2006 - 2009)

Projekt "Polish Network on Coastal Research" realizowany był w okresie 01.02.2006-31.01.2009. Miał na celu zacieśnienie współpracy między instytucjami zajmującymi się badaniem wybrzeża Morza Bałtyckiego. Kierownikiem projektu był dr hab. Grzegorz Różyński. Po zakończeniu jego finansownia przez EU pozostała polska sieć placówek Zintegrowanego Zarządzania Obszarami Przybrzeżnymi, która pragnie kontynuować swoje prace w tej dziedzinie więcej...

Troianet (2007 - 2009)

Sieć naukowa Troianet powstała w 2007 roku. Jej nazwa wywodzi się od pełnej nazwy sieci, która brzmi: Transport osadów i zanieczyszczeń. Kierownikiem projektu był dr hab. Leszek Kaczmarek więcej...

FLOODsite (2004 - 2009)

FLOODsite (FP6 EU) jest międzynarodowym projektem finasowanym przez Unię Europejską w ramach 6 Programu Ramowego. Projekt rozpoczął się 2004 roku. Kierownikiem polskiej grupy tego projetu był dr hab. Grzegorz Różyński więcej...

ASTIR (2005 - 2007)

Assessment Study on Requirements for Technologies, Decision Making Tools and Baseline Information Requirements for Operational Oceanography and Integrated Coastal Zone Management jest projektem, który trwał w latach 2005-2007. Celem projektu było zebranie i analiza doświadczeń naukowych, technicznych i organizacyjnych dotyczących monitoringu morskiego i oceanografii operacyjnej w trzech regionach europejskich reprezentowanych przez partnerów projektu: HYDROMOD Scientific Consulting (Niemcy), IFREMER (Francja) i IBW PAN (Polska). Kierownikiem projektu był dr hab. Rafał Ostrowski więcej...

TIP (2000) - 2006)

Trójmiejski Integrator Pomiarów jest bazą danych przechowującą informacje kto, co, gdzie i kiedy pomierzył. Celem tego projektu, było ułatwienie wymiany informacji o wszelkich pomiarach wykonywanych na obszarze wód morskich i śródlądowych Pomorza (głównie Gdańskiego). Koordynatorem projektu była dr Małgorzata Robakiewicz więcej...

CEM (2003 - 2006)

Projekt "Centre for Environmental Engineering and Mechanics" był realizowany w latach 2003-2006. Kierownikiem projektu była dr Małgorzata Robakiewicz. Dzięki dotacjom z 7 Ramowego Programu Unii Europejskiej w ramach Centrum Doskonałości zostało zorganizowane wiele konferencji oraz ukazało się wiele publikacji więcej....

HUMOR (2001 - 2004)

Short description:
Coastal zone areas in Europe, where almost one third of the European total population is living, are suffering from the consequences of non-integrated and excessive uses of coastal resources. Coastal erosion, reduction of harbour operativity, flooding of lowlands and loss of habitat are signs of the continuous degradation of coastal areas, a problem that concerns all the EU.

Persons facing these problems (coastal managers, harbour authorities and other decision makers) in general do not have an overall picture of these questions, and they analyse them locally, not accounting for the influence of their activities on the other activities, nor for the time response of natural and human-induced coastal changes.

However, coastal morphology is the result of a complex multi-scale nonlinear dynamic process that involves waves, currents and sediment transport in interaction with the changing topography. These processes have medium and large-scale components with lengths of the order of hundreds of meters and periods larger than several months. This multi-scale variability makes the management of the coast a question that has to be faced globally in time and space.

The ability to understand and predict the medium- and long-term natural evolution of the coast, and the medium- and long-term effects of human actions on the coastal system is, therefore, essential to achieve a sustainable use of littoral richness. Moreover, there is a need for providing the scientific and end-user communities (coastal managers, harbour authorities, etc.) with new, integrated concepts and techniques to survey, monitor and exploit the coastal zone on a medium- and long-term basis.

The inclusion of IBW PAN, NAS Institution within the EXTENDED HUMOR project enhanced the Overall and Specific Objectives of HUMOR project, bringing in complementary and new techniques. The technical and scientific objectives has enriched, in particular in the workpackage features of "Data Sets" (Wp1/DS), "Analysis and Predictive Tools" (Wp2/APT), "Coupling between nearshore bedforms and shoreline evolution in unbounded coasts" (Wp4/UC), as well as - indirectly - "Coastal and Harbour Management Questions" (Wp6/CM).

SURVAS (1999 - 2001)

Short description:
The SURVAS Project involved a network of international scientists interested in improving our knowledge of the impacts and adaptation to sea-level rise across Europe and the rest of the World. SURVAS was sponsored by the European Union and also additional funding has been received from the Asian-Pacific Network for an Asian-Pacific Workshop. The main aims were:

• to further our understanding of ASLR by reviewing existing studies and associated methods
• to develop improved regional and global perspectives on ASLR and associated impacts

The SURVAS methodology has been developed via active consultation of multidisciplinary experts from academic and international organisations. SURVAS effort builds upon previous work on ASLR impact assessment initiated by IPCC CZMS (1992), and a range of Country Studies Programmes (e.g. UNEP, USCSP), and uses the conceptual framework designed by Klein & Nicholls (1999).

INDIA (1997 - 2000)

Short description:
INDIA is a three year MAST 3 project focusing attention on a small, highly dynamic, tidal inlet in southern Portugal.

The principal objectives of the INDIA project are:

• to understand interactions between waves, tides and sediments which determine the morphology and stability of tidal inlets and adjacent coastlines;
• to improve numerical models used to predict changes in coastal morphology.

To achieve these objectives the INDIA project will address the following research areas using a combination of fieldwork and computer modelling:

• fundamental sediment transport mechanisms;
• measured and predicted sediment transport rates;
• mechanisms by which sediments by-pass inlets;
• hydrodynamic properties of inlets;
• sediment transport mechanisms and rates through inlets;
• modification of surface wave amplitude, form and direction by the flood and ebb tidal deltas and by the inlet;
• the morphological evolution and dynamics of deltas;
• wave overwash processes;
• aeolian sediment transport rates and dune evolution;
• surf zone processes.

Activities carried out in the first 6 months of the project duration

The activities were concentrated on a mathematical model for the description of sediment transport as bedload and suspended load in a thin layer above bed due to surface waves. The model is an extension of the theoretical concept of moveable seabed developed jointly by IHE and the University of Liverpool, see Kaczmarek & O'Connor (1993a, b) and Kaczmarek et al. (1994). The model has recently been adapted for non-linear (asymmetric) and irregular (random) waves and verified in laboratory conditions by Kaczmarek & Ostrowski (1996a). The present model of seabed dynamics incorporates the solution scheme for determination of bed shear stress due to irregular waves proposed by Kaczmarek & Ostrowski (1995) as well as the aspect of bedload in real sea conditions tested by Kaczmarek & Ostrowski (1996b) on the basis of field results.

To test the model, random series of free stream velocity measured at the top of boundary layer in laboratory conditions were used, previously being explored by Kaczmarek & Ostrowski (1995) in the verification of irregular bed shear stress model. On the basis of each input series, the output series of bed shear stress and bedload rate were computed. Then the statistical and spectral analyses were carried out for all series. Similar procedure was applied in the sediment transport computations for real sea conditions. Here, the input free stream velocities were simulated from the shallow water surface elevation spectra measured at the IHE Coastal Research Facility. In addition, a few bedload series have been computed from water surface elevation series registered by a wave buoy at bigger depth.

On the basis of the computations the proposed theoretical model has been found to be useful in practical applications for the coastal zone. Furthermore, a simplified model version has been formulated, the methodology of which requires regular wave parameters at the input, being representative for irregular wave motion.

The model extension comprises the transport of sediment suspended in a thin layer above sea bed (contact load layer). For this purpose, the use has been made of Deigaard's (1993) proposal combined with the present approach. The results of computations show that the contribution of suspended load to total sediment transport is extremely small in weak wave conditions while the suspended load transport rate can be 5 times bigger than bedload for extreme storm conditions. A part of the above mentioned findings will be presented at the ICCE in Copenhagen, Kaczmarek & Ostrowski (1998), and published in the conference proceedings.

The model is now available in the form of software package. The usefulness of the package was demonstrated during a meeting of the IHE representatives and the INDIA project co-ordinator at the University of Liverpool in January 1998. At the present stage of the project the model estimations of sediment transport features can be used to plan the experiments and design the measuring devices. The latter has been carried out for the sand trap design proposed at the LIM/UPC laboratory within TMR proposal.

PACE (1996 - 1999)

Short description:
no description avalaible

BASYS (1996 - 1999)

Short description:
no description avalaible

VVA (Integrated Coastal Zone Management (1994 - 1996))

Short description:
The objectives of the Vietnam VA Project were:

• To strengthen and upgrade the technical capacity of Vietnamese counterparts for the efficient management of the Vietnamese coastal zone in both the short and long term;
• To encourage and strengthen the links and interactions between Vietnamese organisations involved in coastal management as a priority for effective CZM in the short term and as a first step toward the longer term goal of implementation of ICZM in Vietnam;
• To arrive at a full Vulnerability Assessment for the Vietnamese coastal zone within the 18 month study period, consistent with the format and requirements of the IPCC;
• To demonstrate, by working on specific local Pilot Studies, the application of techniques, tools and decision making systems for solutions to actual existing serious coastal problems;
• To conduct effective communication and synergy of effort with other on-going relevant projects and programmes such as UNITAR, RRMDP, CCTRAIN, UNDP, WFP etc.
• To work openly, interactively and closely in a trilateral team to cover all the stated project objectives and thereby build and bond effective working relationships between the local participants in Vietnam.

VALIDATION (1996 - 1999)

Short description:
This study has been carried out under the Dutch-Polish programme of co-operation in the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding 'Coastal Zone Management' between the Netherlands and Poland, within the project DWW-1149 signed by the Ministry of Transport, Public Works and Water Management, Directorate General Delft, Road and Hydraulic Engineering Department (DWW) and the Polish Academy of Sciences' Institute of Hydro-Engineering Gdansk (IBW PAN).

The scope of the work has been agreed on as 'validation of a number of existing coastal dynamics models', further specified as UNIBEST, LITPACK/MIKE21, GENESIS and SAND94. Their description has been pursued in respective chapters of the Interim Report, by Kaczmarek et al. (1996), for Part One of the contract, comprehensively summarised in this Final Report, together with the remaining segments of the validation job.

In general terms, the validation under this programme is oriented towards verification of computer-aided modelling of coastal dynamics. Modelling of coastal processes in general, and shore evolution in particular, is of paramount importance for both the understanding of the controlling physical processes and the solving of practical cases stipulated by coastal zone management. The coastal engineering community in Poland, very much like in many other countries all over the world, suffers from a lack of highly reliable forecast methods. The validation of the software available in and beyond Poland, basing on the field data collected for Polish sites, can shed more light on the advantages and shortcomings of various software tools, and can help identify the most suitable methods for prediction of shore evolution and its constituents.

Hence the idea of this project is to cross-check the validity of various models by reference to prototype data. Once validated, the software can be of obvious use by coastal managers on various scales of responsibility, from general (Maritime Offices) to regional and local, hand in hand with other authorities and coastal users, consultants, planners etc. The Dutch experience incorporated in the project ensures high level of guidance, quality control and user-oriented validation job.

Some validation attempts have already been done before this project was initiated, e.g. under MAST II and other programmes, but there is still a lot of room left for more checks, modifications and improvements. The success of this programme can then add to the benefit of other international programmes, such as MAST III, wherein some research schemes (e.g. PACE) aim at exploring large-scale coast evolution.

Two sites have been chosen for the purpose of the validation. The two small harbours eventually selected are:

• Wladyslawowo, located at the root of Hel Peninsula, with one predominant longshore sediment transport direction, causing distinct accretion westwards of the harbour and substantial lee erosion eastwards of the harbour breakwaters,
• Kolobrzeg, with the entrance located at the Parseta River mouth, having the features of two-directional longshore sediment transport as well as the evidence of local predominance of cross-shore transport.

All the validated models were tested for the two sites within a number of runs. The runs are grouped in four cases, namely 1, 2, 3 for Wladyslawowo site and 4 for Kolobrzeg. The project was focused on the following main goals:

• proper representation of shoreline evolution in various time and spatial scales by the validated models;
• modelling of longshore sediment transport rates consistent with the existing knowledge on coastal processes at the analysed sites;
• studies on the models' flexibility and their capability to take account of the hydro- and lithodynamic processes in a harbour's vicinity included in the modelling of longshore transport;
• provision of the recommendations and suggestions for the users, concerning the models' inputs, sensitivity, user-friendliness and efficiency.

Summary

The computer package GENESIS (ver. 3.0 of Dec. 1994) was developed jointly by the Department of the Army (Waterways Experiment Station, Corps of Engineers, 3909 Halls Ferry Road, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA) and the Department of Water Resources Engineering (Lund Institute of Technology, University of Lund, Sweden). The model GENESIS (GENEralized model for SImulating Shoreline change) can be used for simulation of long-term shoreline change at coastal engineering projects. As recommended by its authors, it can be run for coastlines 1 to 100 km long and for time range of 1 to 100 months. The shoreline change is simulated on the basis of spatial and temporal variability in longshore sediment transport. GENESIS is available at CERC, Vicksburg, Mississippi, USA.

LITPACK (ver. 2.1 of 1991 for DOS) is an integrated modelling system for LITtoral Processes And Coastline Kinetics. More specifically, LITPACK is a software package from the Danish Hydraulic Institute (DHI) for the modelling of non-cohesive sediment transport in waves and currents, littoral drift, coastline evolution and profile development. LITPACK is an integration and enhancement of DHI's deterministic numerical models: STP, LITLONG and LITLINE. LITPACK is available at DHI, Denmark. For the purposes of this project, the licensed LITPACK package at the Maritime Institute of Gdansk has been used.

The computer package SAND94 was developed at the Polish Academy of Sciences' Institute of Hydro-Engineering, Gdansk, Poland. SAND94 is the non-commercial software package intended for computations of waves, wave-induced currents, sediment transport and shore evolution. The package consists of the programs for prediction of deep-water wind wave parameters, wave transformation analysis, modelling of vertically averaged longshore currents, modelling of return flows, longshore and cross-shore sediment transport rates using various models and standard single-line routine.

UNIBEST consists of two basis components, namely the sediment transport package UNIBEST-LT Version 4.0 (May 1993) and the coastline evolution package UNIBEST-CL Version 3.11 (June 1993). These packages were developed at the Delft Hydraulics, see UNIBEST Manuals (1993). One characteristic cross-shore profile, representative for the entire analysed coastal zone, is assumed in UNIBEST-LT. Longshore sediment transport can be determined using 5 theoretical approaches. The transport rate is calculated for a variety of assumed angles between the characteristic profile and wave incidence. The computations comprise a series of wave events and yield the coefficients of approximate transport formula, being a function of wave-to-coastline angle. Within UNIBEST-CL the sediment transport variability along shore is modelled by using the shoreline angles at grid points and the coastline evolution is determined in each time step by the single line model.

Aside from the model test computations, a supporting literature review was carried out, in order to provide supplementary information on the models' features. As a result of this review, a number of conclusions were drawn concerning - inter alia - the models' shortcomings and abilities, scales of their applicability, accuracy and efficiency. For instance, the most complex and detailed sediment transport description in LITPACK is achieved at the expense of heavy involvement of computational efforts. All the validated models base on the conventional single line theory. The major differences consist in the determination of the longshore sediment transport. This theoretical part of the study can provide some insight into the compliance of the tested programs with the physical background of sediment transport modelling.

Within the proper testing activity, the basic assumption made in the selection of the Polish coastal sites for the validation job was formulated as the requirement that only two harbour sites could be taken into account for subsequent analysis. Such two regions should be different as to their morphodynamics. They are further proposed as representative ones for unidirectional and two-directional longshore sediment transport. In addition, the sites should display distinct dynamics, evidenced by substantial long-term morphological changes.

In the wake of the selection of bathymetric histories of coast evolution at the two sites eventually chosen for the purposes of this project the following time spans have been approved as major time domains for the validation exercises.

The wind data retrieved for Wladyslawowo in the years 1952-1990 and 1996 as well as for Kolobrzeg in the years 1971-1993 have been used directly as the input time series in some cases. In the other cases the data have been processed yielding probabilistic annual distributions for wind speed and direction. Both the time series and the statistical wind quantities have been used in the hindcast of deep-water wave parameters.

The deep-water wave parameters at the water depth of 40 m have been computed from wind data by the semi-empirical spectral Krylow et al. (1976) method. Then the conventional wave transformation procedure, by using refraction and shoaling coefficients, was applied to the deep-water parameters to reduce them to the depth at the offshore limit of the bathymetric transects. The above two stages of the modelling procedure have been carried out using SAND94 model. The above input wave parameters were used in all tested models.

For the site of Wladyslawowo, all the validated models have been tested within a number of runs grouped in three cases, namely:

• Case 1, in which the shoreline evolution has been modelled in the time scale of about five months (the period from 23rd April to 20th September 1996). The computations have comprised a two-kilometre longshore segment east of the harbour and the real meteorological chronology. During this period artificial beach nourishment was carried out along almost entire analysed shore segment. Case 1 has been introduced to provide proper representation of the shoreline migration in the close lee-side vicinity of the harbour breakwater; the latter is not included explicitly in the modelled area but is represented in the models by appropriate boundary conditions;
• Case 2, in which shoreline evolution has been modelled in the same time scale as in Case 1 but on a bigger spatial scale. Here, the computations have comprised at least the 4-kilometre longshore segment covering both east and west side of the harbour; artificial beach nourishment on the lee side has also been taken into account. Case 2 has been dealt with in order to provide proper representation of the shoreline migration in the close vicinity of the harbour on its both sides, the harbour itself being reproduced in the models by their standard options available. In addition, a few tests have been carried out within Case 2 to examine the effect of wave chronology on the output of the models;
• Case 3, in which shoreline evolution has been modelled in the long-term time scales and in the same spatial scale as in Case 2. These computations have been started for the year before the harbour construction (1934) or at the moment assumed as the emergence of the harbour (beginning of 1936) and ended at present (1996/1997). Artificial beach nourishment activities on the lee side (for the period in which the detailed record of fills is available, i.e. 1991-1996) have been taken into account. Case 3 has been aimed at providing proper representation of the long-term shoreline migration in the close vicinity of the harbour on its both sides, to be reproduced in the models by the use of their available options. These tests have been carried out by using the input wave based on the representative meteorological annual chronology retrieved for the period 1952-1990.

In all tested models, except for a few additional sensitivity tests with UNIBEST, the depth of closure in the single-line models has been assumed as 7 m.

It has been found out that the final recommendations should take into account various aspects of the modelling. The physical background embedded in the models for determination of wave field, wave-driven currents and sediment transport should certainly correspond to the goodness of simulation. User-defined modifications and fits allowed in the models, as a kind of their "degrees of freedom" were also important elements of comparison. It is advisable that the model enables the user to include in the modelling process his "engineering intuition" and his broad knowledge of the analysed coast segment and the underlying physical processes. On the other hand, one should remember that the user's intervention should be limited to the indispensable minimum and should not interfere with the scientific basis a model stems from. Also, the computational effort, primarily time, should be minimised. Taking into account such criteria, it has been concluded that UNIBEST is a good choice as it offers a bit more reasonable compromise between accuracy of physical description and the user's engineering intuition, versus the other packages validated under this programme.