On Wednesday 13 September 2017 the Dutch coast experienced its first autumn storm of the year. Wind speeds reached up to 10 Beaufort along the Wadden coast, with gusts up to 120 km/h. This provided a perfect opportunity for some "wind-watching" before starting the actual campaign.
Before heading for Egmond, we stopped by at the Kennemer Dunes near Bloemendaal aan Zee. Here, trenches have been created that extend through the foredunes to allow for sediment transport from the beach into the dunes. Despite the narrow beach in front of the dunes, the southwesterly-westerly winds moved spectacular amounts of sand through the trenches and into the hinterland.
The foredune at Egmond aan Zee is more of a high, continuous ridge and sand transport into the dunes was not as obvious. As we walked along the beach from the town of Egmond to the AEOLEX-II field location, it was clear that small embryonic dunes had developed along large parts of the beach. These embryonic dunes are the first signs of new dune development and will continue to grow if left undisturbed by wave action. The 50 cm storm surge allowed the waves to reach the embryonic dunes at some locations alongshore, but not enough to make them disappear. We climbed onto the dune to make a time-exposure image of the surf zone. The areas of wave breaking provide an indication of the water depth and the presence of sandbars in front of the beach.
Take a look at the movie below for a short impression of this stormy day.
The foredune at Egmond aan Zee is more of a high, continuous ridge and sand transport into the dunes was not as obvious. As we walked along the beach from the town of Egmond to the AEOLEX-II field location, it was clear that small embryonic dunes had developed along large parts of the beach. These embryonic dunes are the first signs of new dune development and will continue to grow if left undisturbed by wave action. The 50 cm storm surge allowed the waves to reach the embryonic dunes at some locations alongshore, but not enough to make them disappear. We climbed onto the dune to make a time-exposure image of the surf zone. The areas of wave breaking provide an indication of the water depth and the presence of sandbars in front of the beach.
Take a look at the movie below for a short impression of this stormy day.