Professional Experience
2026 – present
Founder & Principal Coastal Modelling Specialist
CoastalModelling — The Hague, Netherlands
Independent specialist providing advanced coastal and delta modelling support to engineering consultancies and public-sector projects, including:
- Process-based hydrodynamic and morphodynamic modelling
- Storm impact, erosion and flooding assessments
- Long-term shoreline evolution and scenario analysis
- Independent review and validation of modelling studies
- Technical input to feasibility studies and detailed designs
1985 – 2026
Senior Coastal Morphodynamics Specialist
Deltares — Delft, Netherlands
- Core contributor to Delft3D coastal morphodynamic model development
- Principal investigator for coastal morphology
- Technical lead and advisor in international consultant-led projects
- Development of rapid assessment and long-term morphodynamic tools
2005 – 2026
Professor of Coastal Engineering
IHE Delft / TU Delft
- Training of professional engineers and consultants
- Development of XBeach, Duna, ShorelineS, SnapWave
- Supervision of applied MSc and PhD research
- Coordination of internationally funded applied research programmes
Key Qualifications
Coastal hydrodynamics & morphodynamics (1D/2D/3D)
Wave–current–sediment interaction modelling
Storm erosion, overwash & breaching
Delta & estuarine sediment dynamics
Long-term shoreline evolution & management scenarios
Nature-based solutions (mangroves, dunes, reefs)
Model development, benchmarking & validation
Independent technical review of consultant studies
Morphodynamic acceleration (MORFAC)
Scenario-based & long-term modelling
Structured & unstructured grids
Selected Assignments
Forecasting Hurricane Impacts on Coasts (FHICS)
Development of operational coastal erosion and flooding models to support hurricane impact forecasting along the US East Coast and Gulf of Mexico. Client: US Office of Naval Research.
Long-Term Monitoring & Modelling of Bangladesh Coastal Zone
Delta-scale and estuary-scale morphodynamic modelling to support long-term coastal planning and embankment improvement programmes. Client: Bangladesh Water Development Board / World Bank.
Coastal Erosion of the Lower Mekong Delta
Process-based modelling of erosion, sediment dynamics and evaluation of coastal protection measures. Client: Agence Française du Développement.
West African Coastal Areas (WACA) – Shoreline Change Modelling
Development and application of shoreline evolution models and decision-support tools for coastal management. Client: World Bank.
Design & Operationalisation of Coastal Monitoring & Modelling System
Integrated analysis, short- to long-term modelling, and capacity building for a complex river-mouth and coastal system. Client: Municipal Development Agency (ADM).
Inlet Stabilisation at Grand Bassam
Pre-feasibility and feasibility studies of the stabilisation of the mouth of the Comoë river; morphodynamic modelling, field visits and capacity building. Client: Ministry of Environment.
Coastal Erosion Expert Mission
Advice on coastal erosion along the coast of Côte d'Ivoire: field excursions, expert meetings and strategic advice. Client: Ministry of Environment.
Training on Delft3D Hydrodynamic and Morphological Modelling
Hands-on training in use of advanced modelling tools; case studies in Egypt. Client: Hydraulic Research Institute, Cairo.
Selected Publications
200+
Peer-reviewed publications
20,000+
Google Scholar citations
65+
h-index
D Roelvink, M Van Ormondt, J Reyns, M Van Der Lugt (2025). SnapWave: fast, implicit wave transformation from offshore to nearshore. Geoscientific Model Development 18(23), 9469–9495.SnapWave source paper
J Reyns, B Jagers, R Ranasinghe, H Kernkamp, D Roelvink (2025). A three-dimensional process-based morphodynamic model on orthogonal unstructured grids for coastal applications. Coastal Engineering, 104915.Delft3D-FM morphology
A Elghandour, J Reyns, S Costas, J Nienhuis, D Roelvink (2023). Coastline evolution due to tidal inlet migration using a free form coastline model. Coastal Sediments 2023, 1181–1187.
H Elmilady, M van der Wegen, D Roelvink, A van der Spek (2022). Modeling the morphodynamic response of estuarine intertidal shoals to sea-level rise. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface 127(1), e2021JF006152.
D Roelvink, B Huisman, A Elghandour, M Ghonim, J Reyns (2020). Efficient modeling of complex sandy coastal evolution at monthly to century time scales. Frontiers in Marine Science 7, 535.ShorelineS source paper
D Roelvink, S Costas (2019). Coupling nearshore and aeolian processes: XBeach and Duna process-based models. Environmental Modelling & Software 115, 98–112.Duna source paper
Dano Roelvink and Ad Reniers (2011). A Guide to Modeling Coastal Morphology. Advances in Ocean Engineering, World Scientific, Singapore, 280 pp.
Dano Roelvink, Ad Reniers, Ap van Dongeren, Jaap van Thiel de Vries, Robert McCall, Jamie Lescinski (2009). Modelling storm impacts on beaches, dunes and barrier islands. Coastal Engineering 56(11–12), 1133–1152.XBeach source paper