Application of Lagrangian coherent structures in shallow water flows

Coastal and estuarine ecosystems are heavily influenced through floating debris pollution. This often leads to low-quality coastal water and a negative impact on ecosystem health. This thesis has shown that the use of Lagrangian coherent structures (LCS) can predict hotspots of debris accumulation, repelling and upwelling circulation. Such hotspots have a strong socio-economic importance for visual amenity and efficient debris clean-up operations. LCS is a technique which is highly robust to hydrodynamic model uncertainties. This approach thus provides a useful tool for effective clean-up management of vulnerable regions and marine protected areas