Hydrographic Society Benelux
Workshop and Annual General Meeting
On 24 March, the HSB organised a workshop followed by the 2011 AGM. The event was held at the auditorium of Delft's University of Technology. Part of the meeting was the award ceremony of annual prizes for the best graduation theses. The workshop's theme was Terschelling and its surroundings. Two guest speakers from Rijkswaterstaat presented the results of their recent work in a clear and inviting fashion.
Geomorphologist Ernst Lofvers from the Waterdienst presented the temporal variations in the system of channels and creeks between Vlieland and Terschelling with aerial photographs and bathymetry charts. The gradual eastward transgression of the Vliestroom over the past 15 years was clearly evident. Lofvers explained the difficulty in maintaining a natural ferry route from Terschelling to the Friesian mainland. A minimal amount of dredging is required. Since 1996, the rather lengthy route through the Slenk has been favoured. Alternative shorter routes would even today lead to more dredging. In addition, the shortest route, perpendicular to the main channel, would be sensitive to sudden sedimentation during a strong wintry gale, thus blocking access to Terschelling.
Measurement specialist, Herman Peters, of the Data and ICT service department discussed the way in which Rijkswaterstaat goes about improving their knowledge on water and sedimentation behaviour in the Waddenzee. In normal circumstances most patterns are well known. The quality and height of coastal protection measures are best tested in extreme conditions of weather, waves and currents. Design conditions will hopefully never occur. Thus they can only be simulated by extrapolation using models. The reliability of such models is subject to experiments in nature. Special attention is drawn to SeaDarQ. This software product uses ordinary radar reflections, for example, as provided by coastal radar installations, to compute wave, current and depth parameters. Comparison to model results should enable improvements to the reliability of predictions.
The third speaker, Sicco Kamminga, addressed the background, objectives and activities of the HSB Educational Fund. The EF committee, which he has chaired since 2004, spends most of its time judging graduation reports. Many nominated reports are by BSc Ocean Technology students at the Maritime Institute Willem Barentsz on Terschelling. Other educational institutes are invited to nominate graduation work on hydrographic themes.
For 2010, the first prize, consisting of EUR500, was awarded to Hein Filius. He was assigned by Fugro Survey to study the use of multi-beam backscatter with pipeline inspection surveys. The second prize, worth EUR250, was won by Lammert Zwaga, who determined the optimal tidal correction values in the Maasgeul . In winning these prizes, both students have made a valuable first step toward a career as hydrographic surveyor!
During the AGM, the board reflected on the events and initiatives of last year, and accounted for the financial affairs. Maarten-Jan Theijs showed how the co-operation with the Stichting Arbeidsmarkt Geo led to various initiatives to improve the visibility of the hydrographic surveyor profession among young people. Two examples are HSB's involvement with Geofort and Edugis. Geofort is a former military reinforcement near Herwijnen. Various land and hydrographic survey activities were presented on the island as exercises and games. Edugis is an internet application that supports the national geography curriculum for secondary schools.
At the close of the meeting, Matthieu Vrakking presented his newly built website commissioned by the HSB, www.hydrographicsocietybenelux.eu. On the website you will find the above mentioned presentations and an overview of planned events for the remainder of this year.
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