Overview of 20 years of field measurements in the coastal zone and at the Petten sea dike in the Netherlands

• We give an overview of almost 20 years of field measurements at the Petten site in the Netherlands.
• The most important research findings from Petten site data were obtained in the research projects OPTICREST, CLASH and WTI.
• The influence of scale and wind effects on wave overtopping is small, thereby validating the PC-Overtopping tool for the field
• The measured return periods of the maximum run-up heights are in agreement with the Hydra-K predictions.
• Wave measurements in storms can be inaccurate due to transformation of pressure data and diffraction around poles.

This paper intends to give an overview of almost 20 years (1994–2013) of field measurements at the Petten site in the Netherlands and to list the main research findings derived from these measurements. The main objectives of the Petten site were to obtain field data of (i) wave propagation from deep water through the surf zone to the dike, (ii) wave run-up against the dike, and (iii) (since 2006) wave overtopping. The paper describes the evolution of the site lay-out during its existence and discusses the data collection, processing and dissemination. The most important research findings based on Petten site data have been obtained in research projects like OPTICREST (1998–2001), CLASH (2002–2004) and WTI (2003–2013). The results of the WTI project (on wave overtopping, wave run-up, redundant wave measurements and rapid bathymetric changes) are described here in more detail, because these results have not gained widespread attention yet.