NCK-days 2012

This year’s NCK-days were organized at the University of Twente in Enschede, from March 13 till March 16. Since we also celebrated the 4^th lustrum of NCK (see photo impression), the program was slightly different from other years, now including international keynote speakers, jubilee conference proceedings, a photo competition, and short paper awards.

 After 20 years of coastal research, it was time to (re)consider the past and plan for the future. In order to put Dutch coastal research in an international context, we invited renown international speakers on a number of key topics in coastal research.

We were honored to have the following keynote speakers included in our program:

Patrick Hesp, Louisiana State University, Department of Geography and Anthropology Surfzone-beach-dune interactions

David Huntley, Plymouth University, School of Marine Science and Engineering Nearshore Physical Oceanography: Recent Trends and Future Prospects

Anne Kox, University of Amsterdam, Institute for Theoretical Physics Hendrik Antoon Lorentz and the problem of the Zuiderzee tides

Iris Möller, University of Cambridge, Department of Geography Bio-physical linkages in coastal wetlands – implications for coastal protection

 Tom O’Donoghue, University of Aberdeen, School of Engineering Laboratory experiments for wave-driven sand transport prediction

Catherine Villaret, EDF R&D, Laboratoire National d’Hydraulique et Environnement
A large scale morphodynamic process-based model of the Gironde estuary

Next to these keynotes, there were 34 presentations in total (oral and posters) on currently ongoing coastal research in the Netherlands. All presenters, including the key-note speakers, contributed short papers that were published in the special  NCKdays 2012 - Jubilee Conference Proceedings, together with essays on the past and future of coastal research in the Netherlands and retrospections on the accomplishments of NCK’s partner institutions.

Best paper awards were granted to Gundula Winter of TU Delft (best paper by junior scientist) and to Janine Nauw of NIOZ (best paper by senior scientist).

To end these lustrum NCK-days in an accordingly festive manner, a field trip by boat was organized in the Ems-Dollard Estuary (in collaboration with the Wadden Academy). The excursion started in Delfzijl, The Netherlands, and we sailed all the way upstream to Leer, Germany.

As we moved from the Dollard into the Ems river, four experts on the Ems Estuary shared their vast knowledge about the area:

Herman Mulder (Rijkswaterstaat-Waterdienst) provided an Introduction to the Ems estuary and aspects of its management.

Karel Essink (board member ‘Stichting Verdronken Geschiedenis’/ retired employee of Rijkswaterstaat ) explained The long term landscape development of the Dollard area , and addressed ecological aspects of the Ems estuary for fish , ecological effects of dredging , and water quality issues . 

Martin Krebs (Wasser- und Schifffahrtsamt Emden) provided background to the “Emssperrwerk”, a  storm surge barrier annex weir near Gandersum, as well as an historic overview of other man made changes in the Lower Ems .

Han Winterwerp (Deltares, Technical University of Delft) finally shared his knowledge about physical processes in estuaries  and demonstrated the muddiness of the Ems Estuary.

The organizing committee of the NCK-days 2012

Kathelijne Wijnberg, Wouter Kranenburg, Erik Horstman

University of Twente, Water Engineering and Management

The organization of these NCK-days was supported by: