
The research project aims to improve the quantification of lowland sediment. First, methods to measure both suspended load and bed load transport with acoustics are improved. Secondly, bed form geometry and bed form superimposition are investigated, focussing on the relation with total sediment transport and application of sediment transport equations for transport predictions. The work plan includes the analysis of existing data (ADCP and multibeam echosounding), laboratory experiments in the Kraijenhoff van de Leur laboratory focussed on acoustic measurements of bed load transport and on bed form kinematics, and field campaigns to bed forms and sediment transport in the Dutch delta. The research will lead to improved estimation of long-term sediment fluxes that are needed to understand the morphological development of the Dutch delta and serve as calibration data for numerical modelling, and will lead to improved transport equations and with that improved numerical modelling of long-term development of the Dutch delta under climate change and sea level rise.