Goal of the Project
There is an increasing risk of saltmarshes being drowned under sea level rise and increased erosion to saltmarshes and tidal flats due to increased wave energy and tidal currents. This project aims to investigate the processes occurring in estuarine systems and methods to enhance flood resilience against climate change. A number of field experiments will be undertaken to investigate the use of mud as a building material to tackle the issue of sediment supply. Further experiments will be undertaken to investigate methods to prevent lateral erosion through the use of biodegradable structures at salt marsh cliffs, and oyster tables to reduce the wave energy reaching the marsh-tidal flat interface.
Diagram showing the dynamics of salt marsh platforms without human influence (Yousefi Lalimi et al., 2020).
Scientific Motivation
Estuaries worldwide are characterised by tidal foreshores consisting of salt marshes fronted by unvegetated tidal flats. These ecosystems are highly valuable in providing ecosystem services such as enhancing biodiversity, carbon sequestration, habitat grounds for fisheries purposes, and providing natural flood defences, reducing the pressures on dykes often situated behind the marsh. These tidal foreshore ecosystems are becoming increasingly endangered both by reduced sediment supply reducing the system’s ability to rebuild itself, increases in wave exposure and tidal currents increasing the risk of lateral erosion, and by drowning of the vegetation due to sea level rise. This has been accelerated in a number of estuaries through the construction of dams and dredging practices. In particular, the construction of the delta works in the Dutch Eastern Scheldt has accelerated erosion and drowning of the tidal foreshores throughout the system, making it a model system for learning how to preserve flood safety and nature quality in macrotidal estuaries worldwide.
Expected Outcomes
The expected outcomes of this project will be results from a number of longer and shorter term field and flume experiments to understand potential engineering solutions to enhance estuarine flood resilience. It is envisaged that a number of recommendations could be made to help influence future schemes in industry.
Involved Endusers
Last modified: 20/08/2024
Contributing researchers
Hannah Bard
Utrecht University
Project outputs
FRM in focus: video
The Future FRM Tech programme develops flood resilient landscapes for rivers and estuaries as well as technical solutions for water barriers. Watch the video to get to know more about the project
29/04/2021 by Prof. dr. ir. Bas Jonkman
Bevat: Video & Audio
