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The Polish government has made a decision to build a nuclear power plant (NPP) in the South Baltic coastal zone. This means that three major types of structures will be located in the nearshore: (1) breakwaters and a wharf where ships may dock to load and unload cargo (harbor), (2) seawalls protecting the shore against erosion and storm surge floods, and (3) an underwater piping system for cold water intake and heated water discharge. This study determines the dominant directions and rate of sediment transport for the coastline section in the vicinity of the projected Polish NPP (ca. 100,000 m3/year), as well as assesses current changes at this coastline location on the basis of field measurements and mathematical modeling. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present article presents results of a laboratory study on the assessment of erosion patterns around a hydrodynamic transparent offshore foundation exposed to combined waves and currents. The model tests were conducted under irregular, long-crested waves in a scale of 1:30 in a wave-current basin. A terrestrial 3D laser scanner was used to acquire data of the sediment surface around the foundation structure. Tests have been conducted systematically varying from wave- to current-dominated conditions. Different volume analyzing methods are introduced, which can be related for any offshore or coastal structure to disclose physical processes in complex erosion patterns. Empirical formulations are proposed for the quantification of spatially eroded sediment volumes and scour depths in the near-field and vicinity of the structure. Findings from the present study agree well with in-situ data stemming from the field. Contrasting spatial erosion development between experimental and in-situ data determines a stable maximum of erosion intensity at a distance of 1.25 A, 1.25 times the structure's footprint A, as well as a global scour extent of 2.1–2.7 A within the present study and about 2.7–2.8 A from the field. By this means, a structure-induced environmental footprint as a measure for erosion of sediment affecting marine habitat is quantified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]