Delta Life 9

DELTARES, APRIL 2018 DELTARES IN BRIEF AUTONOMOUS SHIP REACHES MATURITY FREEZE TO GO How strong is the sand in Groningen when there is an earthquake? A Deltares conducted a study. The team took samples in Groningen from three sand layers of different geological origin that were frozen in advance. Researchers conduct tests that show how strong the different sand layers are and what defor­ mations they expect during an earthquake. The soil has to be frozen to ensure that the soil samples are kept undisturbed during their journey to the geotechnical laboratory in Delft. Once they reach the lab, the samples are thawed in a controlled way. An earth­ quake is then simulated. That makes it clear how the Groningen sand behaves when there is liquefaction, the process in which sand and groundwater are temporarily transformed into a sort of quicksand. Frozen samples have never been taken before in Europe. Autonomous ships help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and they are flexible and relatively inexpensive. But how mature is the techno­ logy for autonomous sailing? Can it be used safely on the North Sea, for example? Rijkswaterstaat and Deltares teamed up to look for the answer in a test area of ​four hundred square kilometres in the North Sea. A ten-metre-long autonomous vessel was subjected to a number of tests such as overtaking, intersecting courses with other ships and avoiding imminent frontal collisions. The tests also included looking at how the ship responds when another ship doesn't comply with the shipping regulations or when there are several ships in the area. The tests were an enormous success: the ship complied well with the shipping regulations. For Deltares, an autonomous vessel is a way of collecting data as efficiently as possible. FEWER FATALITIES DUE TO NATURAL FORCES The number of fatalities as a result of natural disasters in urban coastal areas has fallen considerably. This is the conclusion of a study by Deltares and Delft University of Technology. It's good news. It proves that, despite the increasing probability of flooding and the worldwide rise in the number of inhabitants of coastal areas, the risks have been reduced. Another important finding is that the number of casualties caused by natural disasters is declining steadily throughout the world. This is because the monitoring and forecasting of hurricanes for most oceans is now common practice. Government authorities have installed systems that sound early warnings and ensure that evacuation can start in time. In addition, areas are now less vulnerable due to coastal defences.