Projects

Human interventions have strongly influenced the geomorphology and ecological functioning of tidal rivers (estuaries) on a global scale. In Belgium and the Netherlands this is clearly visible in the Scheldt estuary, which was significantly narrowed until the 1950s by the construction of dikes, while the channels were deepened for shipping, which together resulted in a sharp increase in tidal range, high water levels and flow velocities. Due to ...

Tidal marshes are increasingly proposed as nature-based shoreline protection against climate change induced sea level rise and increasing storminess. In this project I address the following key knowledge gaps on the effectiveness of this nature-based climate adaptation function: how do two-way interactions between plants and waves lead to spatial self-organization of species zonation and wave attenuation, and how does this self-organization ...

As a transition zone between land and sea, estuaries accommodate specific and valuable ecosystems and often act as a filter for the load of nutrients and pollutants increased by human activities. Intertidal areas play a key role in these functions. The area of natural tidal wetlands can be extended by bringing the planned controlled flooding areas under influence of the tide. Within the pilot project of the controlled inundation area with ...

This project aims to quantify the impact of waves on sediment bed stability on a tidal flat and marsh area, the so-called Galgenschoor, in the Scheldt estuary, Belgium. This is done based on field measurements of waves, currents, sedimentation-erosion dynamics and data analysis, with particular emphasis on the quantification of the relative impact of natural wind waves and anthropogenic ship waves, and the relationships between wave loading and ...

The aim of the current study project is to develop a method for risk assessment of sediments in brackish and salty waters. This method, drawn up in analogy with the TRIADE assessment method for freshwater and elaborated specifically for Flemish water soils, contains an analysis of a series of physicochemical parameters, an in situ biological assessment of the benthic macroinvertebrate community and bioassays carried out under controlled ...

Tidal marsh ecosystems are threatened by global sea level rise, but have a certain ability to adapt by sedimentation. However, in several tidal marsh areas around the world, the sedimentation rate is slower than the rate of sea level rise, through which the tidal marsh is increasingly flooded, causing stress to the marsh vegetation and eventually resulting in large-scale vegetation die-off. In this project we study the impact of vegetation ...

Intertidal landscapes are complex environments located between the land and sea, and that are regularly flooded by tides. They provide highly valuable ecosystem services that are threatened by sea level rise and changing sediment supply. Previous studies showed that the small-scale (order of m2) interactions between vegetation dynamics, water flow and sediment transport (so-called bio-geomorphic feedbacks) have a great impact on channel network ...

Intertidal landscapes are complex environments located between land and sea, and that are regularly flooded by tides. They provide highly valuable ecosystem services that are threatened by sea level rise and changing sediment supply. Previous studies showed that the small-scale (order of m2) interactions between vegetation dynamics, water flow and sediment transport (so-called bio-geomorphic feedbacks) have a great impact on channel network ...

Tidal marshes, which are vegetated wetlands within larger-scale tidal basins, play a critical role in the physical and biological functioning of that tidal basin. The processes that control the landward erosion and seaward expansion of marsh area are, however, hardly understood.Here we aim at quantifying the hydrodynamic and geomorphic threshold conditions that cause:(1) the start of marsh expansion, by vegetation establishment on an initially ...