Continental Shelf Research 29 (2009) 302–319 Hydroynamics and sediment dynamics in the German Bight. A focus on observations and numerical modelling in the East Frisian Wadden Sea Joanna Staneva a,1,Ã , Emil V. Stanev b,1 , Jo¨rg-Olaf Wolff a , Thomas H. Badewien c , Rainer Reuter c , Burghard Flemming d , Alexander Bartholoma¨ d , Karsten Bolding e a Institute for Chemistry and Biology of the Sea(ICBM), University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Strasse 9-11, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany b School of Environmental Science, University of Ulster, Cromore Road, Coleraine, BT52 1SA, UK c Institute of Physics, University of Oldenburg, Carl-von-Ossietzky-Strasse 9-11, D-26111 Oldenburg, Germany d Senckenberg Institute, Department for Marine Science, Su ¨ dstrand 40, D-26382 Wilhelmshaven, Germany e Bolding and Burchard Hydrodynamics, Strandgyden 25, DK-5466 Asperup, Denmark Received 23 March 2007; received in revised form 12 October 2007; accepted 2 January 2008 Available online 21 January 2008 Abstract This work deals with analysis of hydrographic observations and results of numerical simulations. The data base includes acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCP) observations, continuous measurements on data stations and satellite data originating from the medium resolution imaging spectrometer (MERIS) onboard the European Space Agency (ESA) satellite ENVISAT with a spatial resolution of 300 m. Numerical simulations use nested models with horizontal resolutions ranging from 1 km in the German Bight to 200 m in the East Frisian Wadden Sea coupled with a suspended matter transport model. Modern satellite observations have now a comparable horizontal resolution with high-resolution numerical model of the entire area of the East Frisian Wadden Sea allowing to describe and validate new and so far unknown patterns of sediment distribution. The two data sets are consistent and reveal an oscillatory behaviour of sediment pools to the north of the back-barrier basins and clear propagation patterns of tidally driven suspended particulate matter outflow into the North Sea. The good agreement between observations and simulations is convincing evidence that the model simulates the basic dynamics and sediment transport processes, which motivates its further use in hindcasting, as well as in the initial steps towards forecasting circulation and sediment dynamics in the coastal zone. r 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Ocean circulation; Sediment dynamics; Tidal basins; Nested models 1. Introduction Near-coastal areas are subject to increasing practical and societal interests, however our basic scientific knowledge is still limited and forecasting capabilities are still in their infancy. One of the basic problems is the insufficient resolution of observations and models in the near coastal zone, which necessitates further efforts towards down- scaling. When approaching the coast the overall role of bottom turbulence and sediment dynamics increases, the latter controlling coupling between water-, ecosystem- and morphodynamics. Resolving the coastal boundary layer requires further synergy between newly available data characterized by fine resolution in time and space and modelling with very fine resolution. In this paper we describe the downscaling from a regional model for the area of the German Bight to a model for the East-Frisian Wadden Sea. The work presented here has been carried out within the framework of the research programme ‘‘Bio- GeoChemistry of Tidal Flats’’, where observations based on data from in situ instrumentation, e.g. temperature, salinity sensors and acoustic Doppler current profilers (ADCPs), as well as ocean colour sensors onboard ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/csr 0278-4343/$ - see front matter r 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.csr.2008.01.006 Ã Corresponding author. Tel.: +49 4152 87 1565; fax: +49 4152 87 1804. E-mail address: Joanna.Staneva@gkss.de (J. Staneva). 1 Institute for Coastal Research, GKSS Research Center, Max-Planck- Strasse 1, D-21502 Geesthacht, Germany.