Andre Theron

Stellenbosch University | SUN · Department of Civil Engineering

False Bay is the largest coastal embayment along South Africa’s coastline. Despite notable contributions of various historical observational studies on the circulation within False Bay and the associated physical processes driving these flows, there remains significant uncertainty largely because the studies to date have been undertaken over short...

This report summarises the findings of the stakeholder engagement, literature review and data inventory conducted for the National Coastal Assessment project, on behalf of the National Department for Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, with funding from the GIZ GmbH.

South Africa’s coastal zone is an attractive space for economic and recreational activities. Approximately 60% of the South African economy depends on coastal natural resources and trade infrastructure such as ports. As of 2013, an estimated 3.5 million people are residing within 5-7 km from the coast line, 60% thereof in dense metropolitan areas1....

This study investigates the berm crest elevation at 20 Temporarily Open/Closed Estuaries (TOCEs) along the wave-dominated, microtidal coastline of South Africa and provides suitable methods of prediction. Several years of berm survey and estuary water level data were analysed for the selected estuaries, resulting in a relatively large record of his...

Description of the national wide detection of coastal hotspots where land use conflicts arise. Conducted on behalf of the the National Department of Environmental Affairs – Branch Oceans and Coasts, Cape Town

The Durban Bight beaches, on the KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa, have been the topic of several studies in the past, because of their recreational and economic value. These beaches are mainly nourished via a sand-pumping scheme, which has been the case since the 1980s. The present study investigated the longer-term dynamic stability of the Dur...

The proposed Smithfield Dam is located 187 km upstream of the river mouth and the estimated total sediment load trapped in the reservoir is 1.27 million t/a, of which the sand fraction is about 10%. Reservoir sedimentation prediction of the proposed Smithfield Reservoir was carried out by using a two dimensional hydrodynamic model for a 100 year pe...

This study follows from a proposal that was compiled by the CSIR based on discussions between the CSIR and the DEA. The proposal was drafted by a number of CSIR staff including Mr Andre Theron, Mr Marius Rossouw, Dr Melanie Luck-Vogel, Dr Christo Rautenbach, Ms Lara van Niekerk, Dr Susan Taljaard and Dr Louis Celliers; in collaboration with Dr Alan...

As part of its strategic planning for integrated coastal management and the research needs of the country, the Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) through its Oceans and Coastal Branch (O&C) intends to pursue a study of the aspects of coastal vulnerability on a national scale but also in order to provide decision support on a local scale. Bo...

During 2006–2007, the KwaZulu-Natal coast of South Africa was exposed to several large swell events (Ho > 3 m), near the peak of the lunar nodal cycle, causing shoreline recession. The largest swell (Hs = 8.5 m) struck the coast on the March equinox (18th–20th) and generated a strong storm-return flow. Observations made before, during and after rec...