Dune Erosion at the German Baltic Coast—Investigation and Analysis of a Large-Scale Field Experiment Compared to Life Dunes
A large part of the Baltic Sea coastline in the north-eastern provinces of Germany (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein) is protected by coastal protection dunes, which are constructed and maintained to preserve a quasi-natural beach environment. The latest IPCC report predicts a significa...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-10-01
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| Series: | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/11/1605 |
| _version_ | 1797467748979179520 |
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| author | Christian Kaehler Stefan Cantré Constantin Schweiger Fokke Saathoff |
| author_facet | Christian Kaehler Stefan Cantré Constantin Schweiger Fokke Saathoff |
| author_sort | Christian Kaehler |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A large part of the Baltic Sea coastline in the north-eastern provinces of Germany (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein) is protected by coastal protection dunes, which are constructed and maintained to preserve a quasi-natural beach environment. The latest IPCC report predicts a significant sea level rise even in the Baltic, together with an increase in storm surges within the next decades. Sand dune constructions are particularly affected by these developments, in close connection to the increasing problems of sediment mining for beach nourishment and dune maintenance. In the BMBF research project PADO (Processes and Implications of Dune Breaching at the German Baltic Sea Coast), scientists from Rostock University and RWTH Aachen University investigated together with various partners how constructed sand dunes would fail during a storm surge, focusing on the erosion and the initiation and development of a breach. Therefore, a large-scale field experiment was installed at the beach of Rostock-Warnemünde, which was instrumented and surveyed in high resolution during the storm surge in November 2018, leading to the collapse of the dune, using innovative measurement systems, including terrestrial laser scanning and photogrammetry. The measurements were used to run a numerical model (XBeach) to simulate dune breaching for three different sections of existing sand dunes at the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Additional investigations were made to analyse the filling and emptying of the polder areas behind the coastal protection dunes and the consequences of the floods with respect to saltwater intrusion. In this paper, the field experiment and the results from measurements and simulations are compared to one of the real reference dunes, and the transfer of results to a dune breach incident near Rostock in 2019 is discussed. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:57:09Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e4c533f88cd04206b9c64a92e54beb38 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1312 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T18:57:09Z |
| publishDate | 2022-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Marine Science and Engineering |
| spelling | doaj.art-e4c533f88cd04206b9c64a92e54beb382023-11-24T05:21:38ZengMDPI AGJournal of Marine Science and Engineering2077-13122022-10-011011160510.3390/jmse10111605Dune Erosion at the German Baltic Coast—Investigation and Analysis of a Large-Scale Field Experiment Compared to Life DunesChristian Kaehler0Stefan Cantré1Constantin Schweiger2Fokke Saathoff3Department Geotechnics and Coastal Engineering, Universität Rostock, 18059 Rostock, GermanyDepartment Geotechnics and Coastal Engineering, Universität Rostock, 18059 Rostock, GermanyLeichtweiß-Institute for Hydraulic Engineering and Water Resources, Technische Universität Braunschweig, 38109 Braunschweig, GermanyDepartment Geotechnics and Coastal Engineering, Universität Rostock, 18059 Rostock, GermanyA large part of the Baltic Sea coastline in the north-eastern provinces of Germany (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein) is protected by coastal protection dunes, which are constructed and maintained to preserve a quasi-natural beach environment. The latest IPCC report predicts a significant sea level rise even in the Baltic, together with an increase in storm surges within the next decades. Sand dune constructions are particularly affected by these developments, in close connection to the increasing problems of sediment mining for beach nourishment and dune maintenance. In the BMBF research project PADO (Processes and Implications of Dune Breaching at the German Baltic Sea Coast), scientists from Rostock University and RWTH Aachen University investigated together with various partners how constructed sand dunes would fail during a storm surge, focusing on the erosion and the initiation and development of a breach. Therefore, a large-scale field experiment was installed at the beach of Rostock-Warnemünde, which was instrumented and surveyed in high resolution during the storm surge in November 2018, leading to the collapse of the dune, using innovative measurement systems, including terrestrial laser scanning and photogrammetry. The measurements were used to run a numerical model (XBeach) to simulate dune breaching for three different sections of existing sand dunes at the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Additional investigations were made to analyse the filling and emptying of the polder areas behind the coastal protection dunes and the consequences of the floods with respect to saltwater intrusion. In this paper, the field experiment and the results from measurements and simulations are compared to one of the real reference dunes, and the transfer of results to a dune breach incident near Rostock in 2019 is discussed.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/11/1605dune erosionbreach developmentfield experimentnumerical modellingXBeachlaser scanning |
| spellingShingle | Christian Kaehler Stefan Cantré Constantin Schweiger Fokke Saathoff Dune Erosion at the German Baltic Coast—Investigation and Analysis of a Large-Scale Field Experiment Compared to Life Dunes Journal of Marine Science and Engineering dune erosion breach development field experiment numerical modelling XBeach laser scanning |
| title | Dune Erosion at the German Baltic Coast—Investigation and Analysis of a Large-Scale Field Experiment Compared to Life Dunes |
| title_full | Dune Erosion at the German Baltic Coast—Investigation and Analysis of a Large-Scale Field Experiment Compared to Life Dunes |
| title_fullStr | Dune Erosion at the German Baltic Coast—Investigation and Analysis of a Large-Scale Field Experiment Compared to Life Dunes |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dune Erosion at the German Baltic Coast—Investigation and Analysis of a Large-Scale Field Experiment Compared to Life Dunes |
| title_short | Dune Erosion at the German Baltic Coast—Investigation and Analysis of a Large-Scale Field Experiment Compared to Life Dunes |
| title_sort | dune erosion at the german baltic coast investigation and analysis of a large scale field experiment compared to life dunes |
| topic | dune erosion breach development field experiment numerical modelling XBeach laser scanning |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1312/10/11/1605 |
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