The most important questions to be addressed are:

• what are the most optimum dimensions of the sand mining pits/areas (small and deep areas or wide and less deep areas) in terms of effects on the coast and mining costs?

• what are the most attractive locations of sand mining in terms of effects on the coast and the mining costs?

• what are the sand infill rates of mining pits/areas after completion?

• what are the migration rates and directions of the side slopes of the mining pit/areas after completion?

• what is the effect of massive long-term sand mining on the surrounding shoreface and the coastline (coastal sand budgets)?

• what is the effect of removal (by dredging) of offshore sand banks/shoals on the surrounding shoreface and coastline?

• what is the effect of massive long-term sand mining on the ecological structure of the seabed?

The overall objective of the SAND PIT project is to develop reliable prediction techniques and guidelines to better understand, simulate and predict the morhological behaviour of large-scale sand mining pits/areas and the associated sand transport processes at the middle and lower shoreface and the surrounding coastal zone.

The basic philosophy of the SAND PIT Poject is:

• execution of field and laboratory experiments to fill missing gaps of existing databases (WP3),

• improvement of detailed research sand transport models (WP4),

• improvement of practical sand transport models using the results of field/laboratory experiments and of detailed process models (WP4),

• implementation of practical sand transport models in a community sand transport model (WP4),

• implementation of community sand transport model in morphodynamic models

Research on morphology

• application of improved morphodynamic models to evaluate the morphological behaviour of sand bank at middle and lower shoreface (before and after removal of bank), (WP4),

• application of improved morphodynamic models to evaluate the behaviour of sand mining pits at middle and lower shoreface (WP4),

Practical guidelines

• integration of all results into practical guidelines and tools for use by various types of end-user, such as coastal managers, consultants, contractors and modellers

The milestones and expected results are:

Year 1:

Database of existing data on sand transport and morphogical features at lower shoreface in the participating EU-countries.

Year 2:

Database and reports of detailed new field and laboratory data of sand transport and morphology for understanding of processes and validation of models.
Reports and papers on morphodynamic modelling of sand mining pits/areas.

Year 3:

Database and endbook of scientific results and guidelines integrating all results of existing and new experiences, field work, model methodology and outputs on sand transport, morphology and ecology for various end-users, such as coastal managers/authorities, consultants, contractors and modellers.
Course on sand transport and sand mining at the shoreface.