The Department of Coastal Engineering and Dynamics is one of the three major research units within the Institute of Hydro-Engineering of the Polish Academy of Sciences (IBW PAN).
The Department of Coastal Engineering and Dynamics carries out research on problems connected with coastal hydrodynamics, evolution and management of the coastal zone, sediment transport and shore protection. Both theoretical and empirical methods are applied in order to solve the problems of the basic and applied characters. The following research topics are of interest of the Department:
- Wave transformation processes,
- Wave-driven currents,
- Coastal currents and circulation,
- Mechanics of bedload and suspended load under waves and currents,
- Longshore and cross-shore sediment transport,
- Dynamics of coastal zone in various time and spatial scales,
- Optimisation of shore protective measures.
- Optimisation of maritime disposal of wastewater
We have participated in many international projects (bi-lateral, joint and EU research projects). We have cooperated with various research and academic institutions in such countries as Bulgaria, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Taiwan, Ukraine and Vietnam.
The Department has carried out a number of research projects supported by industrial organizations and maritime administration. These activities were closely linked to fundamental studies conducted at the Department and aimed at solution of important engineering tasks. Here, the practical problems solved for the Maritime Offices (Gdynia, Słupsk, Szczecin) and engineering offices have concerned the optimisation of shore protection measures, artificial beach nourishment, maintenance of waterways, removal of sand deposits from harbor entrances etc.
The Coastal Research Station at Lubiatowo, located approx. 75 km NW from Gdańsk is the field laboratory of IBW PAN. It is equipped with both stationary and portable instruments enabling measurement of waves, currents, sediment transport, topography of beach and shore (bathymetric surveys using GPS technique) etc. The research comprises various scales of morphodynamics of the coast characterised by a multi-bar cross-shore profile. The absence of tidal motions in Lubiatowo makes the Laboratory especially useful for investigating the wind waves and long-period motions as, for example, edge waves, surf beats, etc. It is unique in Poland and one of just a few laboratories of this kind in the world, equipped with wind and wave gauges, pressure sensors, electromagnetic current meters, Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers and Laser-Doppler Particle Size Analyser.
Existence of CRS Lubiatowo and the multi-aspect field investigations carried out in various time-spatial scales provide huge amount of data and observations of the Baltic coastal zone. This knowledge, obtained in undisturbed natural conditions, facilitates verification of many theoretical considerations and helps to understand complicated coastal physics.
