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28

DELTARES, September 2016

Extreme sea water levels caused by tidal waves and spring tides can

have devastating social effects. Approximately 600 million people live

around the world in low-lying coastal areas where the risk is highest.

Deltares and the VU-University of Amsterdam developed a map of

the world that shows extreme sea levels for all coastlines. One of the

main factors underlying this study was the launch of Delft 3D software

that includes the option of raising model resolutions locally (Delft3D

Flexible Mesh). As a result, the hydrodynamic model delivers uniquely

high resolutions for coastal areas while making extremely efficient

calculations at the same time.

The new dataset includes extreme water levels that may occur once

every hundred years. Until now, only regional data have been available

about these water levels. They were not yet available at the global

scale.

The researchers’ article about the dataset was published in Nature

Communications on 27 June.

Global map shows extreme seawater levels

North Sea webinar seen in 71 countries

The webinar ‘Hydrodynamic modeling on the Northwest European Shelf

and North Sea: new opportunities with Delft3D Flexible Mesh’ took place

on Monday, 20 June. 483 participants from 71 countries had registered

to follow the presentation online without being physically present.

This is a new record. The participants came from a wide range of

countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, France,

Indonesia, Singapore, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Vietnam,

USA and South Africa.

In the webinar, Firmijn Zijl focused on the ongoing development and

improvement in the operational tidal models for the Northwest-European

Continental Shelf – the section of the continent that is under water –

and in particular on the North Sea and the adjoining shallow seas and

estuaries (wide river outlets created by tidal flows).

In the Netherlands, accurate predictions of water levels on the coast

are crucial because large areas of the country are below sea level. The

importance of precise and accurate warnings is even more critical due to

the movable barriers such as the Eastern Scheldt and Maeslant barriers.

That is because the decision to close these barriers has to be taken in

time, but only when it is strictly necessary.

For more information:

www.deltares.nl/en/webinars/