Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology

Assignment 1
Source- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.csr.2022.104766

Course No- WRE 6302

Course Name- Sediment Transport

Student Name- S. M. Sabbir

Student ID- 0422162023
Work Title- Sediment deficit and Morphological changes of the Rhine–Meuse River mouth attributed to multi-
millennial anthropogenic impacts.

Objectives- (i) Rhine-Meuse River is used as an example that citizens live near the river can change the natural and
authentic delta land, build a modern urban delta and also the amount of changes is calculated which are compared
with another new delta.

(ii) In this study interactions between habitant works and natural estuarine land are examined to reveal how the
amount of changes can be compared with natural changes. Also shown the estuary improvement in words of
sediment budget, breadth, structure and shape.

(iii) In this research the identification of hydro-morphology and hydro-dynamic have been shown and the future
impacts on engineering and the dominating attitude of people on estuarine and delta are also displayed.

Methodology- Past bathymetries need to calculate to get the different of sediment volume with time duration.
However, those data aren’t available in geological and past timescales. The data were collected from old maps and
boundary conditions. A hypsometry device is used to rebuild past estuarine morphology and the device calculated
the morphology, tidal limit and discharge of the stream. The device can measure elevation and depth using empirical
relationships and it takes the morphology and the hydrodynamics are in equilibrium. The hypsometry device is used
in this research not only to palaeogeographical but also past maps of the Netherlands to obtain the estuary
morphology with duration. The device is a free source python device which calculate the tidal prism at the front. The
highest and mean depth at the mouth is calculated by the prism. To get depth value from the discharge of stream a
hydraulic geometry relation is used. As past maps are more correct, highest depth at the mouth is calculated before
1820. The device called hypsometry calculated hypsometry to be convex with a broad area and concave hypsometry
with small area. There are many elective inputs and two ultimate inputs.

Conclusion- The Rhine–Meuse delta in Netherlands (RMD) origin from two estuaries RME and HVL, they are fed
by the Rhine river and Meuse river. The Rhine–Meuse delta has faced a lot of changes due to varies facts. As a
result, the estuaries were narrowed by 85% in RME and 65% in HVL since 1600. There was a loss of 33% in
breadth and the systems have deepened by 94% in RME and also a loss of 79% in breadth and systems have
shallowed by 45% in HVL since 1600. The main changes were noticed in both estuaries between 1600–1700 and
1850–1900, because fast routes were need for navigation and the channels were deepen by dredging and new
channels were built in the RME estuary. By dredging, 5.5 × 10^9 m^3 of estuary had been decreased since 1500.

Limitations- (i) It is quite tough to predict the changes to depth in dredged or another system with the accuracy for
the future.

(ii) The chances to go back to the pre-human, natural delta process is tough to fulfill with present management of
deltas and need of their populations.

(iii) To complete this work promptly more land is needed. Hence the changing of the comprehensive embankments
that happened in RMD between 1600–1900s.

Improvements I could do if I conducted the same study- (i) Firstly, I will take necessary steps to decrease
human interventions in natural delta.

(ii) I will swift the rate of implementation of these research work to offset the large story of changes to aid
adaptation in RMD. (iii) Finally, I will rise the quantity of available area of this project.

Overall comment- Northern estuary displays a stepwise deepening because port activities and dredging for
navigation conducted there. On the other hand, southern port displays not deep scenery because inhabitants are
closed off this branch for the action of tide. A huge loss of water volume is estimated. The floodplains areas and
sediment volume are decreasing, which will rise sea level and risk of flood, make the bank protection weaker. It is
predicted that within 2050 a huge loss of sediment will be faced by RMD in the history of 3500 years.