StormTRACK · Tracking the impact of surge barriers on storm sediment transport pathways

Low-lying coastal regions are facing a severe increase in flood risk as a consequence of climate change, placing a tenth of the world’s population under growing social and financial pressure. To protect these areas from flooding, more storm surge barriers are constructed in estuaries, and the closure of existing barriers during storm events is becoming more frequent. While these measures are necessary to keep coastal communities safe, closing a surge barrier can significantly alter the way storms transport sediments across an estuary. As such alterations can threaten the morphodynamic and ecological equilibrium of these systems with consequences for their long-term stability, understanding how to minimize the impact of surge barriers on estuary storm sediment transport dynamics is necessary. With StormTRACK, I aim to inform sustainable surge barrier operation by conducting the first assessment of surge barrier impact on storm sediment transport pathways in estuaries. To understand how storms transport sediments between different areas of an estuary and how surge barrier closure alters such dynamics, I will develop tools that will allow me to simulate the movement of sand and mud particles in coastal settings at local-to-regional scale and to validate such simulations through remote sensing images of sediment plumes. I will then employ these tools to investigate how surge barriers affect storm sediment transport pathways across tide and wave dominated estuaries for a variety of storm and surge barrier operation scenarios. Implemented at Caltech and TU Delft, StormTRACK will allow me to diversify my competences and skills, through advanced and interdisciplinary training, while strengthening my international and inter-sectoral network. Ultimately, I will be able to provide new fundamental knowledge about the interplay between surge barriers and storm sediments across estuaries and help promote sustainable estuary management across and beyond Europe.