Dutch use giant manmade waves to study flood control
DOI: 10.1063/PT.5.029199
BBC : A device in the Netherlands is creating the largest artificial waves in the world. At the Deltares Research Institute, the Delta Flume, which cost €26 million ($29 million) and took two years to build, can create waves at least 5 m high. Researchers are using it to test the different kinds of dams, locks, dykes, and barriers needed to protect the country against stormy seas and tsunami surges. At the facility, which is in Delft, a 10-m-high steel wall pushes water back and forth to create the waves, which then travel along a 300-m-long tank. For low-lying countries, like the Netherlands, two-thirds of which is at risk of flooding, such flood-protection studies are becoming increasingly important as global warming is raising mean sea levels around the world.
