ALONGSHORE SEDIMENT TRANSPORT CAPACITY COMPUTATION ON THE COASTAL ZONE OF THE DANUBE DELTA USING A SIMULATED WAVE CLIMATE.

The second largest river in Europe discharges into the Black Sea through the Danube Delta. This delta was, on average, accretive over the past 10,000 years; yet during the last century, its coastal zone has been subjected to intense erosion due to human interventions. The barrages regulating the discharges of the Danube River and the jetties at Sulina mouth have disrupted the natural discharge and coastal circulation of sediment. Since these interventions the deltaic coast has been wave-dominated so that the shoreline position is controlled by the Black Sea wave climate and the associated alongshore transport gradients. Based on regional wind data and a shallow water state-of-the-art wave model (SWAN) a representative wave climate along the depth contours of the Danube Delta coastal zone was determined. The wave climate served as prime input for the computation of the alongshore sediment transport capacity. Finally, the results were compared with previous works and direct observations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]