Rip Current Prediction System for Swimmer Safety: Towards Operational Forecasting Using a Process Based Model and Nearshore Bathymetry from Video

ISBN-13: 9781138029408 / Angielski / Miękka / 2016 / 152 str.

Leo Sembiring

Opis

Rip currents are among the most dangerous coastal hazards for the bathing public, and contribute to the highest portion of beach rescues all over the world. In order to help life guards in planning and preparing rescue resources so that casualties can be minimized, information about where and when rip currents may occur is needed. This can be provided by a predictive tool which combines meteorological forecasts, hydrodynamic models and remote-sensed observations.
In this thesis, a methodology which can provide rip current forecasts for swimmer safety is developed and tested for Egmond aan Zee beach in the Netherlands. The approach uses the numerical model system CoSMoS, combined with daily estimates of nearshore-scale bathymetry obtained from a system called cBathy, which infers depths by estimating wave celerities from video imaging. Furthermore, in order to gain more knowledge on occurrences of rips at Egmond beach, a numerical study on the kinematics of rip currents and the safety implications for swimmers is presented as well. Coupling the video bathymetry estimates with CoSMoS in forecast mode shows that dangerous rips were correctly predicted. This thesis demonstrates the potential application of the proposed system for providing rip current forecasts at Egmond aan Zee.

Spis treści

1.  Introduction.  2. Literature review on rip currents and rip current prediction systems.  3. Coastal operational model – CoSMoS – system set up and validation.  4. Dynamic modelling of rip currents for swimmer safety on a wind-sea meso-tidal beach.  5. Beach bathymetry from video imagery.  6. Predicting rip currents: Combination of CoSMoS and bathymetry from video.  7. Summary and Outlook

O autorze

Leo Sembiring (1980, Kabanjahe, Indonesia) studied Civil Engineering at the Department of Bandung, Institute of Technology (ITB), West Java. He obtained his B.Sc in 2004 after writing a thesis on developing peak ground acceleration map due to tectonic earthquake for Sulawesi Island. In 2008, he started his graduate program in Coastal Engineering and Port Development program in UNESCO-IHE, Delft. He obtained his M.Sc degree in 2010 (with distinction). He carried out his master research at Deltares, working on the validation of wave and hydrodynamic model for The Dutch Coast (SWAN and DELFT3D) and application of data assimilation model Beach Wizard-dissipation maps in updating nearshore bathymetry. In June 2011, he started his PhD work on developing an operational forecasting system of rip currents for Egmond aan Zee beach. During this period, he spent most of his time at Deltares and occasionally at UNESCO-IHE. During his research, he was involved in SEAREX field campaign at Egmond aan Zee (August 2011), and responsible to organize and conduct his own field campaign on June 2013, during which he was assisted by MSc students from UNESCO-IHE.