Development of a sixth generation model for the NW European Shelf (DCSM-FM 100m) : model setup, calibration and validation

Upon request of Rijkswaterstaat (RWS), Deltares has developed a sixth-generation hydrodynamic model of the Northwest European Shelf. Specifically, this model covers the North Sea and adjacent shallow seas and estuaries in the Netherlands, such as the Wadden Sea, the Ems-Dollard estuary, the Western Scheldt and the Eastern Scheldt. The development of this model (DCSM-FM 100m) is part of a more comprehensive project in which sixth-generation models are developed for all waters managed and maintained by RWS. An important difference with the previous fifth-generation models is the use of the D-HYDRO Suite, the new software framework for modelling free surface flows, which was first released in 2015 and allows for the use of unstructured grids.