R&D highlights edition 2019

Delta infrastructure 45 R&D Highlights 2019 OCEAN RESEARCH AND OUTSTANDING SPORTING PERFORMANCE DURING THE VOLVO OCEAN RACE Throughout the 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race, Delta- res produced specific forecasts for the Sailing Team AkzoNobel based on the ‘Global Tide and Surge Mo- del’ (GTSM) and on the ‘3D Dutch Continental Shelf Model - Flexible Mesh’ (3D DCSM-FM) using Delft3D FM and Delft-FEWS. T he AkzoNobel team set a new distance record during the Volvo Ocean race. ‘Good navigation using the Deltares models for tides and currents was one of the important factors behind the new record,’ says skipper Simeon ienpont. His team sailed an impressive 602.51 nautical miles in 24 hours. Deltares produced specific forecast charts based on the ‘Global Tide and Surge Model’ (GTSM) and on the ‘3D Dutch Continental Shelf Model - Flexible Mesh’ (3D DCSM-FM) using Delft3D FM and Delft-FEWS throughout the 2017-2018 Volvo Ocean Race. To achieve this, a fourteen-month applied research alliance was established between Deltares and the Sailing Team AkzoNobel (TAN), in which our software was used and improved to produce steady global predictions of surface currents. The surface current predictions (the model accuracy and the system reliability) were checked by the sailing team in real time in the harsh and competitive environment of the Volvo Ocean Race. The sailors and Deltares met regularly during the training sessions before the race around the globe, making practical agreements about matters such as data supply and service levels. During the race, Deltares had further contact with team during their regular stopovers in locations around the globe. A major part of the activities was the delivery of surface current forecasts for up to seven days in advance in a number of areas around the globe corresponding to the planned legs of the Volvo Ocean Race. The selection of the areas and the time frames were derived from the discussions with TAN’s group of navigators about their specific needs and their ongoing feedback about the predictions as they were produced. Race constraints were also sometimes decided very much at the last minute in the light of external conditions (such as the Antarctic Ice Exclusion Zone, depending on weather and on iceberg observations). The last three legs of the race were in the North Sea. Unlike the rest of the world, where the forecasts provided to TAN were a combination of the global models GTSM and NOAA’s HYCOM, the results for the North Sea were taken directly from our dedicated model 3D DCSM-FM. This allowed us to acquire further experience with the operational use of a full-3D model with enhanced global meteorological forcing that directly produces the predicted currents for a very thin surface layer. This project required Deltares to demonstrate our ‘flexibility’ to the maximum in support of competitive sailing for TAN. We combined several tools and provided near-24h support for more than a year to provide the best input, which the team needed to make strategic and tactical decisions under pressure and in the spotlight. Furthermore, the forecasts were also supplied to other partners in the cooperation project (like Van Oord, Rijkswaterstaat and the Province of South Holland) to discuss the practicality and reliability of the predictions for their own specific needs. Contact: Joao Rego, Joao.Rego@deltares.nl , t +31 (0)6 1582 1694 Tony Minns, Tony.Minns@deltares.nl, t +31 (0)6 1037 6218 Bas Stengs, Bas.Stengs@deltares.nl , t +31 (0)6 1582 1818 One of the meetings with the TAN team (& boat) Example of results provided to TAN: maps of surface currents (between Ireland and France) Further reading : https://www.deltares.nl/en/news/ worldwide-hydraulic-model- crucial-new-distance-record- volvo-ocean-race/