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DELTARES, September 2016
DELTARES
IN BRIEF
NEWDIKE STANDARDS
IN THE NETHERLANDS
The Netherlands is drawing up new flood-risk management standards for dikes,
dams and dunes. Most of the current standards date from the 1960s. More
people now live in the low-lying areas and there is much more economic activity.
Furthermore, the sea level is rising due to climate change and more water is
flowing through our rivers. It is time for extra protection. In the new approach, we
look not only at the risk of flooding but also at the impact. This is a new chapter in
the centuries-old relationship between the Netherlands and water. The new law is
expected to come into effect on 1 January 2017. Together with Rijkswaterstaat,
Deltares developed the instruments that will allow water authorities to assess their
water defences on the basis of the new standards starting on that date.
NORTH SEA BED TO
BE MAPPED OUT
USING SOUND
Scientists can now use a multi-beam
sonar – a device that covers a wide area
below a ship – to map out the bottom of
the North Sea better. A useful bonus: this
new technology can also record the echo
of the sound on the seabed, generating
information about the seabed such as silt
levels or the presence of shellfish.
Combining this technology with traditional
approaches such as sampling makes it
possible to establish a more accurate
picture of vulnerable areas in the North
Sea. This information is valuable for the
establishment of protection regimes for
sections of the North Sea.
Seaweed and algae can serve directly as a
source of food or as a basis for cattle feed.
The large-scale production of seaweed and
algae at sea could be a useful response to
the increase in the global population to
approximately 9 billion people in 2050.
A start was made in 2015 to determine
what is needed to grow seaweed and
algae on a large scale, what products can
be made with them, and how a positive
business case can be generated. One of
the main challenges is that high
waves – which are common in the
North Sea – can destroy crops. Possible
solutions could involve wave mitigation
or growing crops that can cope with the
waves. A lot can be learnt from Korea
and Japan, where large-scale seaweed
cultivation has been in place for a long
time now.
A national seaweed coalition will first be
talking to private bodies about what is
needed to make
large-scale seaweed
farming profitable. The Deltares parties in
the coalition are TNO, MARIN, ECN, DLO
and the Netherlands Institute for Marine
Research (NIOZ).
CULTIVATING SEAWEED AND ALGAE TO
FEED THE GLOBAL POPULATION
PHOTO: GUUS SCHOONEWILLE