Antwerp Metropolitan Area
PhD in the domain of Geomorphology and ecology of estuaries, focussing on the interactions between the (bio-)geomorphology of tidal marshes and tidal hydrodynamics in estuarine and marsh channels Field measurements are combined with hydrodynamic modeling to study the effect of variations in marsh size and marsh geometry on tidal propagation and storm surge attenuation along marsh channels. The effect of the (bio-)geomorphological properties of intertidal marshes (elevation, size, location and vegetation cover) on tidal hydrodynamics is also studied on the estuary scale, using a two-dimensional hydrodynamic model. The study area is the Scheldt Estuary and in particular the 'Verdonken Land van Saeftinghe', a 3000 ha brackish tidal marsh along the Western Scheldt. The PhD research was conducted at the Ecosystem management research group (ECOBE)
Topic: ‘The influence of dredging activities on the morphological development of the Columbia River Mouth’. A Delft3D modelling study on dredging activities and the large-scale morphological changes at the Columbia River mouth and its neighbouring coastal cells.
Visit to the USGS Pacific Coastal & Marine Science Center as part of MSc graduation project.