The hydrodynamics of the river system, caused by transport of water combined with tidal effects and wind generated waves, and the related transport of sediments as the primary origin for morphological changes of the river system, are the driving forces for many ecological processes. Moreover, there is a strong influence of vegetation on hydrodynamics and morphology.
A basic understanding of the transport processes of water and sediment and the interaction with vegetation is required to understand the river hydrodynamics (e.g. varying water levels or flooding), the morphological behavior of river beds (e.g. navigation channels and mud flats), the design of bank protections (e.g. dike revetments), and inland water transport (e.g. requirements for ships).
The objective of this course module “River hydrodynamics and morphology” is to provide insight in these basic processes, and to integrate these in order to be able to evaluate the river system dynamics and local and global effects of environmental change and human impact (e.g.river engineering works).
In order to achieve these objectives, the following topics are presented:
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a basic engineering introduction in fluid dynamics and (un-)steady open channel flow
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flood wave propagation in a river
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regulation of flood waves by using (un-)regulated reservoirs
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basics of sediment transport (sediment properties, inception of motion, bed load and suspended load transport formulae)
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river morphology (bed forms, river networks: formation and geometric properties, geometry and mechanics of meandering streams)
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interaction between river flow, vegetation and morphology
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tides and tidal rivers
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wind waves (generation, basic engineering wave properties using linear wave theory, wave transformations in shallow water)