Summary:

Project COAST3D, which ran from October 1997 to March 2001 was funded under the European Commissionís Marine Science and Technology Research Programme (MAST-III), with additional funding provided from national sources. The project was undertaken by a consortium of 11 partners including hydraulic laboratories, universities and national regulatory authorities from five EU states (UK, Netherlands, France, Spain and Belgium).

The purpose of the COAST3D project was to improve understanding of the physics of coastal sand transport and morphodynamics. to remedy the present lack of validation data of sand transport and morphology suitable for testing numerical models of coastal processes. to remedy the present lack of validation data of sand transport and morphology suitable for testing numerical models of coastal processes. to test a representative sample of numerical models for predicting coastal sand transport and morphodynamics against this data. to deliver validated modelling tools, and methodologies for their use, in a form suitable for coastal zone management. This was achieved by making field measurements purpose-designed for numerical model evaluation, with adequate boundary conditions and a dense horizontal array of measurement points, in conditions typical of the European coastline. Previous coastal experiments in Europe and elsewhere had placed their main emphasis on hydrodynamics; an innovative feature of the present project was that the emphasis throughout was on sand transport and morphodynamics.

Another distinctive feature was that the focus is on non-uniform (3D) coasts, rather than on the relatively well understood (but possibly unrealistic) uniform 2D case. Experiments were performed at two contrasting sites: a quasi-uniform (2.5D) stretch of the Dutch coastline, in which the three-dimensionality was provided by rip-channels intersecting a breaker-bar system; and a fully 3D site on the UK coast, featuring a beach and spit adjacent to a tidal inlet and rocky headland. This phased approach allowed both the process information and the performance of the numerical models to be more easily interpreted.

Innovative techniques were used in the experiments. Numerical modellers worked interactively with the experimenters, at the planning, experiment, and evaluation phases. Participants from national regulatory authorities ensured that the project was focused on practical tools for coastal zone management.

The project was co-ordinated by Dr R Soulsby of HR Wallingford, UK.

The Liverpool research team contributed their numerical modelling skills to the project.

Duration:

The duration of the Project was for 42 months, starting from 1st Oct 1997

Funds:

The total funds for Liverpool element was £101,420 under contract no MAS3-CT97-0086

Further Details:

For details please visit the Project website: http://www.hrwallingford.co.uk/projects/COAST3D/index.html