The Northern European Enclosure Dam
A multidisciplinary project on the effects of the NEED
F.M.B. Kollaard (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
C.H. Meijers (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
C.F. van Strien (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
I.E. van der Veer (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
L.J. de Vries (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences)
M.M. Rutten – Mentor (TU Delft - Water Resources)
Mark Voorendt – Mentor (TU Delft - Hydraulic Structures and Flood Risk)
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Abstract
Many low-lying densely populated areas and important economical regions in Europe are threatened by sea level rise. \cite{groeskamp2020need} suggest an international cooperation to be able to protect these areas if climate change mitigation fails: the construction of the Northern European Enclosure Dam (NEED). In this research first order calculations are used to show the effects the construction of the NEED has inside the enclosed North Sea basin. The topics covered are: monthly water level variations; hydrodynamics (tides, waves and currents); salinity; temperature and lastly sediment transport. At first these topics are treated independently, after which a first step is made with studying their dependencies. Besides the dependencies, the implications of the NEED on the environment, economy and society are explored. The implications are also shown in a case study looking into the Wadden Sea, which is Natural UNESCO World Heritage.
It is found that, with constant pumping, the water level variability stays within a range that is an order of magnitude smaller than the tidal amplitudes that prevail nowadays. The salinity of the top layer drops with an order of magnitude as well, from 35 PSU to 3.5 PSU in 50 years, while the deep, stratified part of the basin stays salt. The surface temperature only changes slightly with a drop of 0.3 $^{\circ}$C.
The hydrodynamic processes in the enclosed North Sea basin together generate a weak anti-clockwise circulation that replaces the stronger anti-clockwise circulation imposed by the tides that prevailed before the enclosure of the basin. Due to a drop in average flow velocities, the sediment transport in the basin decreases and transforms from tide-dominated to a system where tides and wind are equally important. It is found that all of the above described changes have major implications on environment, economy and society and that much more research is needed to fully understand the changing processes and their effects.