Post by DHI

At the Singapore International Water Week (SIWW), DHI’s Julio García-Maribona López-Sela will be sharing his latest work on a key coastal engineering question: how high should we really design coastal protection? 𝗤: 𝗛𝗶 𝗝𝘂𝗹𝗶𝗼, 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝘆? We’re studying a key question in coastal engineering: how high should coastal protection structures be built? The aim is to find the right balance between safety and cost – protecting coastal areas from flooding without spending more money and materials than necessary. 𝗤: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘂𝘀𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼𝗱𝗮𝘆? Today, engineers estimate quantities such as extreme waves, tides and storm surges using basic methods to link them together. But in real life, the connections between these events are far more complex, with each factor actively influencing the others during extreme weather. 𝗤: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗺 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲? If those relationships are oversimplified, it can lead to two problems: Structures may be overdesigned, making them more expensive than needed, or hazards may be underestimated due to compounding effects, meaning the protection is not strong enough. Neither outcome is ideal for long-term coastal planning nor societal costs. 𝗤: 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝘁? We use a modelling approach that looks at how waves, tides and storm surges behave together during extreme events. We combine this with data from 𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝟮𝟭 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗮𝘃𝗲 and 𝗠𝗜𝗞𝗘 𝟮𝟭 𝗙𝗹𝗼𝘄 𝗙𝗠 models to hindcast environmental conditions at the coast. This allows us to estimate coastal design levels in a way that better reflects what actually happens in the real world. One important finding is that every coastal site behaves differently. Even if two places seem similar, the way waves, tides and surges interact can lead to very different design conditions and therefore different technical solutions. 𝗤: 𝗪𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? This approach helps engineers make better design decisions based on more realistic environmental data. The result is a more balanced solution: maintaining safety during extreme events while avoiding unnecessary construction costs and overdesign. ________________________________________ Get more details about this study at the #SIWW2026 poster session: 𝟭𝟳 𝗝𝘂𝗻𝗲 | 𝗟𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝟰 | 𝟭𝟰:𝟬𝟬-𝟭𝟱:𝟯𝟬 📍Visit DHI's booth: 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗘𝘅𝗽𝗼 & 𝗘𝘅𝗵𝗶𝗯𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗮 𝗕𝗮𝘆 𝗦𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗕𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗵 𝗟𝟭-𝗔𝟭𝟵, 𝗛𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗔 #coastalmodelling #coastalprotection