Through EU funding BARDEX will examine gravel barrier (GB) overtopping and over-washing on the proto-type scale and investigate the role of the back-barrier water table and associated groundwater fluxes on GB stability. The experiments will be undertaken in the Delta flume, Netherlands, and will focus on measuring all relevant hydrodynamic and sediment processes from the lee side of the GB to the offshore closure depth in order to quantify:
the GB response to combined wave action and tides;
the GB response to storms and;
post-storm GB recovery.
BARDEX will provide new data sets for testing, developing and validating numerical models of GB morphodynamics.