Data Repository Sand Banks SW North Sea

Sand banks in the SW North Sea are heavily influenced by the relationship between the critical shear force of the sediment and the shear force of the water motions. The data shows how the sand bank distribution is bounded to certain shear force conditions. It appears that the ratio between the shear force of the water motions and the critical shear force of the bedload (simply referred to as shear force ratio) has to exceed a threshold of four to launch sand bank formation to a greater extend. Previous prediction models have suggested that sand banks form when the shear force of the water motions exceeds the critical shear force of the sediment. Subsequently, these findings can improve further predictions of sand bank formation. The dataset contains: - Shear force ratio as raster data (Unit is N/m^2) The shear force ratio was calculated using several raster datasets provided by the Helmholtz Centre of Geesthacht. - Sand bank shapefile