Low-lying countries, such as the Netherlands, are strongly dependent on good and safe sea defences. In the past, the design of dikes and revetments was mostly based on vague experience, rather than on general valid calculation methods. The demand for reliable design methods for protective structures has, in the Netherlands, resulted in increased research in this field. These contributions have been prepared by Dutch experts participating in the study groups of the Technical Advisory Committee on Water Defences. The book opens with an outline of general strategy and methodology on sea defences, illustrated in the following chapters by technical information on specific items and Dutch experience, and it ends with more general aspects such as probabilistic approach, integral (multifunctional) design, management & safety assessment. Together, these chapters provide an almost complete technical overview of the items needed for the design and maintenance of dikes and revetments. The enclosed CRESS-program allows for an initial estimation of hydraulic loads and preliminary design.

As well as describing the extremely useful applications of the CVBEM, the authors explain its mathematical background -- vital to understanding the subject as a whole. This is the most comprehensive book on the subject, bringing together ten years of work and can boast the latest news in CVBEM technology. It is thus of particular interest to those concerned with solving technical engineering problems -- while scientists, graduate students, computer programmers and those working in industry will all find the book helpful.

The Oosterschelde estuary is one of the estuaries in the Netherlands which remained after the Delta scheme was completed in 1986. In the seventies the Oosterschelde became a national symbol of the change in political thinking and decision making about the values of our natural environment. As a result of political decision a storm surge barrier was built in the mouth of the estuary, as a compromise between safety for the human population and nature conservation. Owing to the broad interest in the meaning of the Oosterschelde estuary for Dutch and international societies, it became one of the most intensively studied coastal ecosystems in Western Europe. In an interdisciplinary approach of several state agencies and universities, a broad spectrum of physical, chemical and biological research has been carried out during the period of 1980--1989, dedicated to the structure and functioning of the saline ecosystem. The undisturbed estuary was studied during the period between 1980--1984. Large mathematical models had been constructed before 1986, to simulate future changes in the ecosystem. Further studies after the completion of the storm surge barrier (1986--1989) have been used for verification of the model. The integrated and summarized knowledge of the Oosterschelde ecosystem is used by water managers and nature and fisheries conservationists. A case study for professional civil engineers, ecologists, marine biologists, water managers, decision makers, university students and anyone interested in physical, chemical and biological estuarine and coastal sciences.