Large Scale Experiments on the Effect of Artificial Reef Restoration on Wave-Driven Flooding

Marion Tissier; Vincent Takens; Kjell Albers; Gerd Masselink; Ad Reniers; Floortje Roelvink; Robert T. McCall; Samuel T. Rose; Damien Sous; Nadia Fani; Samantha Haage

doi:10.1007/978-3-032-15473-6_92

Large Scale Experiments on the Effect of Artificial Reef Restoration on Wave-Driven Flooding

Marion Tissier
, Vincent Takens
, Kjell Albers
, Gerd Masselink
, Ad Reniers
, Floortje Roelvink
, Robert T. McCall
, Samuel T. Rose
, Damien Sous
, Nadia Fani
, Samantha Haage

Delft University of Technology
Deltares
University of Plymouth
University of Pau
Coastruction B.V.
Boskalis

Research output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Book chapter

Abstract

This paper presents a new set of experiments conducted at near-prototype scale to investigate the impact of artificial reef flat restoration on wave transformation and runup. The experiments were carried out in the 300m-long Delta Flume, which allowed the representation of the entire fringing reef profile and sandy island at a 1: 3 scale. The reef restoration consisted of rows of complex-shaped roughness elements arranged in different layouts. In total, three configurations were tested under five irregular wave conditions and two water levels. All tests were also repeated on a bare (unrestored) reef flat to assess the impact of the restoration. Preliminary data analysis indicates that the artificial reef restoration reduced significant wave heights by up to 13% near the shore for the high-density restoration configuration and the lowest water level. This reduction in wave height was similar for both the sea-swell and infragravity wave frequency bands. Next steps are to examine how the spectral distribution of the (incident) wave energy is impacted by the reef restoration for the different configurations, relate this to flow observations within the artificial canopy and assess the impact on runup characteristics.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Coastal Dynamics 2025. CD 2025
Editors	C. Coelho, C. Hallin, F. Sancho, P. A. Silva
Place of Publication	Cham, Switzerland
Publisher	Springer
Chapter	92
Pages	601-606
Number of pages	6
Volume	1
Edition	1st
ISBN (Electronic)	9783032154736
ISBN (Print)	9783032154729
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-15473-6_92
Publication status	Published - 5 Mar 2026

Publication series

Name	Coastal Research Library
Volume	41
ISSN (Print)	2211-0577
ISSN (Electronic)	2211-0585

Acknowledgements

We thank Chantal Willems, Arie van der Vliet, Pieter van der Gaag and Arno Doorn from the TU Delft Hydraulic Engineering Lab for their invaluable support during the design and execution phase of the experiments. We furthermore acknowledge the support of the Deltares Delta Flume team, and in particular the coordinating role of Madelief Doeleman and Suzanna Zwanenburg during the experiments. This research is supported by the TKI Delta Technology-funded CREST project (TU12) and by the UKRI-funded ARISE project (EP/X029506/1).

Keywords

Fringing reef
Physical modelling
Reef restoration
Wave transformation

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Oceanography
Ecology
Nature and Landscape Conservation
Management, Monitoring, Policy and Law

Access to Document

10.1007/978-3-032-15473-6_92

Cite this

Tissier, M., Takens, V., Albers, K., Masselink, G., Reniers, A., Roelvink, F., McCall, R. T., Rose, S. T., Sous, D., Fani, N., & Haage, S. (2026). Large Scale Experiments on the Effect of Artificial Reef Restoration on Wave-Driven Flooding. In C. Coelho, C. Hallin, F. Sancho, & P. A. Silva (Eds.), Coastal Dynamics 2025. CD 2025 (1st ed., Vol. 1, pp. 601-606). (Coastal Research Library; Vol. 41). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-15473-6_92

Large Scale Experiments on the Effect of Artificial Reef Restoration on Wave-Driven Flooding. / Tissier, Marion; Takens, Vincent; Albers, Kjell et al.
Coastal Dynamics 2025. CD 2025. ed. / C. Coelho; C. Hallin; F. Sancho; P. A. Silva. Vol. 1 1st. ed. Cham, Switzerland: Springer, 2026. p. 601-606 (Coastal Research Library; Vol. 41).

Research output: Chapter or section in a book/report/conference proceeding › Book chapter

Tissier, M, Takens, V, Albers, K, Masselink, G, Reniers, A, Roelvink, F, McCall, RT, Rose, ST, Sous, D, Fani, N & Haage, S 2026, Large Scale Experiments on the Effect of Artificial Reef Restoration on Wave-Driven Flooding. in C Coelho, C Hallin, F Sancho & PA Silva (eds), Coastal Dynamics 2025. CD 2025. 1st edn, vol. 1, Coastal Research Library, vol. 41, Springer, Cham, Switzerland, pp. 601-606. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-032-15473-6_92

Tissier M, Takens V, Albers K, Masselink G, Reniers A, Roelvink F et al. Large Scale Experiments on the Effect of Artificial Reef Restoration on Wave-Driven Flooding. In Coelho C, Hallin C, Sancho F, Silva PA, editors, Coastal Dynamics 2025. CD 2025. 1st ed. Vol. 1. Cham, Switzerland: Springer. 2026. p. 601-606. (Coastal Research Library). doi: 10.1007/978-3-032-15473-6_92

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Large Scale Experiments on the Effect of Artificial Reef Restoration on Wave-Driven Flooding

Abstract

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Keywords

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