Investigation, Simulation and Application in Hydrodynamics for Coastal and Ocean Engineering

A special issue of Water (ISSN 2073-4441). This special issue belongs to the section "Oceans and Coastal Zones".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 August 2023) | Viewed by 2847

Special Issue Editors

Department of Civil Engineering, FCTUC, University of Coimbra, 3030-788 Coimbra, Portugal
Interests: hydrodynamics; morphodynamics; coastal processes; coastal management; marine pollution; waves and currents; storms; natural hazards; climate change; numerical modeling
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Department of Civil Engineering, University of Minho, Campus de Gualtar, 4710-057 Braga, Portugal
Interests: water resources and environment; flood simulation; hydrodynamic modeling; hydraulics; coastal morphodynamics; surface water modeling

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The wave spectrum concept, in combination with the linear wave theory for ocean waters, is often used to describe wave propagation at the ocean scale with spectral energy balance. However, the involved physical processes increase in number and complexity as waves move from the deep ocean into coastal waters. To describe the strongly nonlinear dynamics of waves propagating through intermediate-depth waters and the final stages of shoaling and surf zones, fully nonlinear models with improved dispersion characteristics are currently being used. This is a topic that is worthy of major development, yet has remained underinvestigated in recent years.

Vulnerabilities and risks in coastal areas have increased, especially since the midpoint of the last century, and a much more pronounced increase is expected after the midpoint of the current century. It has become clear that human activity is the main cause of such imbalances, both directly, through local actions, and indirectly, through contributions to global warming and climate change. Oftentimes, traditional hard engineering protection techniques, such as the use of breakwaters, groins, seawalls and jetties, have caused a large amount of downdrift erosion problems with high associated costs. In addition, these structures are expensive, have high maintenance costs and may not be sustainable or even effective in reducing wave energy in the medium and long terms. Concerning ecological functions, these structures are not intended to create suitable and attractive environments for fish. On the contrary, these structures are truly short-lived and not eco-friendly. Therefore, the need to manage and maintain coastal areas, focusing on solutions based on nature and conducting research in the design of coastal adaptations for society, is of paramount importance.

Regarding ocean pollution, the natural and atmospheric sources of pollution in the marine environment account for only a small percentage of total ocean pollution (around 16%) when compared to the 37% attributed to urban and industrial loading and to the approximately 45% due to shipping (tank cleaning and unballasting) and oil tanker accidents. No less serious are oil and gas exploration and production operations that have the potential for a variety of impacts on the marine environment, linked to the presence of offshore structures, drilling fluid waste streams, well treatment chemicals and produced water. In addition, offshore drilling physically disrupts the deep-sea habitat and benthic community. The transition to full use of renewable energy will take some time and billions, if not trillions, of euros. More than a quarter of the current oil and gas supply is produced offshore, and it is estimated that by 2040 the amount of offshore energy-related activities will increase. The need to invest in and explore new technologies and equipment, as well as in effective monitoring and control procedures, is therefore becoming increasingly urgent.

This Special Issue aims to support researchers in different areas and assist local communities and coastal managers in carrying out operational coastal management by presenting and discussing management tools and new solutions that should be considered in adaptation programs to be implemented in coastal zones. Submissions describing modeling tools, mathematical developments, numerical implementations and case studies are of interest and will be subject to a peer review process to ensure the publication of high-quality articles.

Prof. Dr. José Simão Antunes Do Carmo
Prof. Dr. José Luís Silva Pinho
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Water is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • deep ocean
  • coastal zone
  • sea level rise
  • ocean pollution
  • decision making
  • hydrodynamics
  • littoral dynamics
  • coastal processes
  • coastal defenses
  • coastal management
  • waves and currents
  • storms and hurricanes
  • adaptation technology
  • adaptive management

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

16 pages, 9753 KiB  
Article
Sea Level Rise Effects on the Sedimentary Dynamics of the Douro Estuary Sandspit (Portugal)
by Francisca Caeiro-Gonçalves, Ana Bio, Isabel Iglesias and Paulo Avilez-Valente
Water 2023, 15(15), 2841; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15152841 - 06 Aug 2023
Viewed by 852
Abstract
Sandspits are important natural defences against the effects of storm events in estuarine regions, and their temporal and spatial dynamics are related to river flow, wave energy, and wind action. Understanding the impact of extreme wave events on the morphodynamics of these structures [...] Read more.
Sandspits are important natural defences against the effects of storm events in estuarine regions, and their temporal and spatial dynamics are related to river flow, wave energy, and wind action. Understanding the impact of extreme wave events on the morphodynamics of these structures for current conditions and future projections is of paramount importance to promote coastal and navigation safety. In this work, a numerical analysis of the impact of a storm on the sandspit of the Douro estuary (NW Portugal) was carried out considering several mean sea level conditions induced by climate change. The selected numerical models were SWAN, for hydrodynamics, and XBeach, for hydrodynamic and morphodynamic assessments. The extreme event selected for this study was based on the meteo-oceanic conditions recorded during Hurricane Christina (January 2014), which caused significant damage on the western Portuguese coast. The analysis focused on the short-term (two days) impact of the storm on the morphodynamics of the sandspit in terms of its erosion and accretion patterns. The obtained results demonstrate that the mean sea level rise will induce some increase in the erosion/accretion volumes on the seaward side of the sandspit. Overtopping of the detached breakwater and the possibility of wave overtopping of the sandspit crest were observed for the highest simulated mean sea levels. Full article
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17 pages, 5558 KiB  
Article
Simulation of Saltwater Intrusion in the Minho River Estuary under Sea Level Rise Scenarios
by Guilherme Menten, Willian Melo, José Pinho, Isabel Iglesias and José Antunes do Carmo
Water 2023, 15(13), 2313; https://doi.org/10.3390/w15132313 - 21 Jun 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1206
Abstract
Estuaries are areas that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Understanding how these impacts affect these complex environments and their uses is essential. This paper presents a work based on an analytical solution and 2DH and 3D versions of the Delft3D [...] Read more.
Estuaries are areas that are vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Understanding how these impacts affect these complex environments and their uses is essential. This paper presents a work based on an analytical solution and 2DH and 3D versions of the Delft3D numerical model to simulate the Minho River estuary and its saline wedge length under climate change projections. Temperature observations at several locations in the estuary region were selected to determine which model better simulated the temperature patterns. Specific simulations were performed for the observation periods. Sixteen numerical model scenarios were proposed, considering a varying tide, different river flows, and several SLR projections based on the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 for 2050 and 2100. The analytical solution was also calibrated using the numerical model solutions. The results show that although there is no relevant stratification, there was a difference in both models in which in the worst climate change scenario, the length of the saline intrusion increased up to 28 km in the 2DH model and 30 km in the 3D model. It was concluded that the 3D model results were more precise, but both configurations can provide insights into how the saline intrusion will be affected. Additionally, the excellent agreement between the analytical solution and the results of the numerical models allowed us to consider the analytical solution a helpful tool for practical applications. It was demonstrated that freshwater discharges and bed slopes are the most critical drivers for the saline intrusion length in the Minho River estuary as they have more impact than the increase in sea level. Therefore, flow regulation can be an excellent way to control saline intrusion in the future. Full article
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