Abstract
The South-Holland coast of the Netherlands undergoes the influence of the Rhine river plume released from the Rotterdam waterways. An experiment, STRAINS, was conducted to study the impact of the fresh water on the nearshore hydrodynamics and sand transport. As part of the experiment, an instrumented bottom frame measured the near-bed hydrodynamics at 12 m depth. The flow was decomposed in the tidal, wave and turbulent component. During moderate energetic wave conditions the cross-shore tidal flow was of similar magnitude as the wave orbital flow. The cross-shore tidal flow was asymmetric and larger in the seaward direction. The cross-shore tidal component may be generated by tidal straining due to the river plume.References
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