Part of our data set from Kijkduin, covering daily scans in January 2017 has been published via 4TU Research Centre: CoastScan: Data of daily scans at low tide Kijkduin January 2017 and can now be accessed online.
Part of our measurements in Noordwijk for the ScanEx fieldwork campaign are ongoing. Thanks to the restrictions of the use of public beaches because of the Corona virus outbreak, the two shipping containers could remain on the beach until the end of April. The weekly scans with our mobile laser scanner around the containers are continuing, as well as some of the measurements of wave data with pressure sensors. We also continue the collection of meteorological data next to the laser scanner (after a short break at the end of March).
On March 25 an article about the ScanEx fieldwork campaign and our work appeared in local newspaper Leidsch Dagblad. The full article can be read here.
Thanks to the closure of the Delft University of Technology because of the Corona virus outbreak, we stopped recording data with the weather station and removed all reflectors. We have data on the reflectors during four weeks, which is enough to evaluate the stability and potential error sources. Some last scans with the mobile laser scanner were performed on 14 March. Measurements with pressure sensors and sampling with the sand scraper are ongoing, as long as permitted.
The news platform Delta of the TU Delft reports about our fieldwork campaign ScanEx. The full article can be read here.
The continuing storms show huge effects on our containers and model containers. A lot of sand is moved around and constantly creates changing shapes and erosion around them. The access road to the beach needs to be cleared daily and the works as well as the sand accretion cause a new shape of the neighboring dunes every time we come to the beach for measurements.
We recorded wind speeds up to 12 bft in the first weeks of February 2020, the beginning of our fieldwork campaign ScanEx. The effects that the wind had on the beach, can clearly be seen around our shipping containers in the observation area. There has been (and continues to be) a lot of aeolian sand transport. The sand is blown away from the south side of the containers and accumulates on the north side. The two wooden boxes were placed directly on the sand before the storms. All sand from underneath was blown away and they appear more than 20 cm above the beach.
Several reflectors have been installed in the dunes and on the shipping containers on the beach. They will support the error analysis of our data from permanent laser scanning, allow calibration of our measurements and help with determining atmospheric effects on our measurements. The reflectors and supporting instruments have been provided and installed by DMT group and TU Freiberg.
Next to our observation area on the beach, pressure sensors have been installed on large posts. With the help of these sensors the wave heights and wave lengths can be measured. This data will be used to accurately model how much sand is transported with the wave and tides towards the beach and from there towards the dunes. The combination of our laser scanner data with as many other data sources as possible gives a unique opportunity to study interactions between different influences on sand transport in our observation area and improve the knowledge of the ‘big picture’.
Scientists from the ShoreScape project placed two wooden boxes in a location close to our shipping containers. The boxes serve as models for the containers. Aeolian sand transport is observed both for the containers and around the boxes. This will give insights into the possibilities and issues of investigating and modelling buildings on the beach in smaller scales.