A mud budget of the Wadden Sea and its implications for sediment management

The world’s coasts and deltas are progressively threatened by climate change and human activities. The degree at which coastlines can adapt to these changes strongly depends on the sediment availability. The availability of muddy sediments is however poorly known. This study aims at developing a mud budget for the world’s largest system of...

Seasonal and Spatial Variability in Patchiness of Microphytobenthos on Intertidal Flats From Sentinel-2 Satellite Imagery

Understanding the spatial structure of microphytobenthos (MPB) on intertidal flats is necessary to gain insight in the benthic community structure and ecosystem processes. The increasing availability of high resolution satellite sensors provides the opportunity to better understand spatial patterns of MPB on various (meter to km) scales. We...

Sediment Disposals in Estuarine Channels Alter the Eco-Morphology of Intertidal Flats

Dredging of navigation channels in estuaries affects estuarine morphology and ecosystems. In the Western Scheldt, a two-channel estuary in the Netherlands, the navigation channel is deepened and the sediment is relocated to other parts of the estuary. We analyzed the response of an intertidal flat to sediment disposals in its adjacent channel...

Progradation Speed of Tide-Dominated Tidal Flats Decreases Stronger Than LinearlyWith Decreasing Sediment Availability and LinearlyWith Sea Level Rise

We use the results of a one-dimensional morphodynamic model and the basis of the “Lagrangian equilibrium state” (Maan et al., 2015, https://doi.org/10.1002/2014JF003311) to derive a quantitative relationship between the progradation speed of tidal flats and the suspended sediment concentration in their adjacent waters and show that the speed...

The differences in morphological development between the intertidal flats of the Eastern and Western Scheldt

Human interventions have a large impact on estuarine morphology. The intertidal flats in the Eastern Scheldt and Western Scheldt estuaries (The Netherlands) have faced substantial morphological changes over the past decades. These changes are thought to be caused by human interventions, such as the construction of the storm surge barrier in the...

Morphological development of the rif and the Engelsmanplaat: An intertidal flat complex in the Frisian inlet, Dutch Wadden Sea

The Rif and the Engelsmanplaat form together a supra- to intertidal flat-complex at the fringe of the ebb-tidal delta and the back barrier area in the Frisian Inlet, located between the Dutch Wadden Sea Islands Ameland and Schiermonnikoog. The complex divides the Frisian Inlet into the Pinkegat Inlet in the west and the Zoutkamperlaag Inlet in...

Mud distribution and land reclamation in the eastern Wadden shallows

Description of the process of silting up intertidal areas and marshland, description of sediments, origin of sediment. The interaction between sediment and vegetation, the quantity of mud in water. Descriptions of methods to enhance the silting up using gripping-up and the use of ditches and trenches to improve this. The Schleswick-Holstein...