Overview
Please note that this website is currently not running, but the principle and method can be applied to monitor other locations.
In the Netherlands, on average five people per year drown in the surf zone and in most cases rip currents play a role in these accidents. Rip currents can form spontaneously and suddenly in the surf zone, but they usually occur when waves break over a sand bar, water “piles up” between the bar and the beach, and flows out through gaps (rip channels) in the sand bar. Offshore directed velocities of over 1 m/s can be reached, which makes a rip current difficult to counter, even for adult swimmers. The website www.muienradar.nl provides daily predictions of swimming conditions for the beach of Egmond. The predictions are based on model computations of nearshore tidal, wind- and wave-driven currents. The prediction system provides lifeguards and beach visitors with information about the swimming conditions, with special attention to the occurrence of rip currents.
Type: Web Application
Project Phase: Operation & maintenance
Type of assessment: Monitoring
Purpose: Assessing swimmers safety as a result of morphological alterations, such as nourishment
Requirements: Knowledge on hydrodynamics
Relevant Software: Google Earth plug-in, compatible Browser (eg. Google Chrome)
