Delft Dashboard: a quick set-up tool for hydrodynamic models

Abstract The open-source program Delft Dashboard (DDB) is a graphical user interface designed to quickly create, edit input parameters and visualize model inputs for a number of hydrodynamic models, using private or publicly available local and global datasets. It includes a number of toolboxes that facilitate the generation of spatially varying inputs. These include new model schematizations (grids, bathymetry, boundary conditions, etc.), cyclonic wind fields and initial tsunami waves. The use of DDB can have significant benefits. It can save modellers considerable time and effort. Furthermore, the automated nature of both data collection and pre-processing within the program reduces the likelihood of errors that could occur when setting up models manually. Three case studies are presented: simulation of tides in the North Sea, storm surge and wave modelling under tropical cyclone conditions and the simulation of a tsunami. The test cases show that models created with DDB can be set up efficiently while maintaining a predictive skill that is only slightly lower than that of extensively calibrated models.