News

Climate change is causing increasingly frequent extreme weather events and, as a result, potential flooding. The damage is often not only local: businesses and economic chains can also be disrupted. This makes recovery after a disaster particularly difficult. At the same time, it is difficult to predict exactly how the climate and society will develop. It is therefore important for regional administrators to make smart choices: where are the risks greatest, and where can resources best be deployed?

Saba wants to take targeted measures to protect its unique marine environment. To do so, there is also a need to understand how pollution occurs via groundwater. A new study by Deltares, commissioned by the Public Entity of Saba, provides the first complete picture of how nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, end up in the sea from land, and what role groundwater plays in this.

This year the Netherlands and Singapore mark a major milestone; 60 years of bilateral ties. These ties span across a range of topics, including water management, climate adaptation, and sustainable development. Deltares is proud to be part of this cooperation.

To keep the Dutch delta liveable and safe, adjustments are needed to a changing climate. But how do we ensure that today's investments contribute to a future-proof Netherlands? Together with Rijkswaterstaat and the Delta Programme Commissioner, Deltares has developed a new method for this: DAPP-Δ, which helps policymakers understand which choices are decisive for the future.

Deltares, Wageningen University, VU Amsterdam, and the World Bank have developed a new governance framework supporting countries to manage floods and droughts synergistically. The results of this effort has recently been published in PLOS Water.

What happens when there is a power cut in a major city or extreme weather make roads impassable? Deltares conducted a study for the city of Amsterdam to investigate the cascade effects of the loss of critical infrastructure due to climate threats such as flooding, heat and drought. Interdependencies and possible cascade effects were identified in collaboration with providers of vital functions.

The Marker Wadden, a man-made archipelago in the Markermeer lake, was constructed with local sediment and designed to restore ecological functions and open up leisure activities. The project is one of a kind, not only because of the innovative design but particularly because of how the financing was arranged.

Where are fresh and saline groundwater located and at what depth? And where are the clay layers that protect the underlying groundwater? This is important information for provincial authorities, water managers, water authorities, farmers and nature managers. To establish a picture, measurements will be made with a helicopter from August this year until February next year in the southern, western and northern Netherlands.

In recent years, the salt marshes of the Wadden Sea have slowly been expanding again. However, the ecological quality of these areas is under pressure. There is decreasing variation in vegetation and development stages. This is problematic, as European and international agreements aim to improve the condition of these dynamic coastal ecosystems.

Last Sunday, a train derailed in Germany due to a landslide caused by heavy rainfall. Three people were killed and dozens were injured. This raises the question: could something like this happen in the Netherlands? And how can we gain a better understanding of the current condition of railway embankments in order to prevent such accidents as much as possible?

Ten leading knowledge institutions, including Deltares, KNMI, MARIN, NLR, RIVM, TNO, Wageningen Research, Naturalis, NFI and RCE, are joining forces and realising DigiLab Applied Knowledge in close cooperation. This programme, supported by the Ministry of Economic Affairs, focuses on setting up a innovative, digital research facility.

For the first time, a harvest has been taken at the world's first seaweed farm located within the boundaries of an offshore wind farm. Located off the Dutch coast in the North Sea and in between wind turbines, this farm is an important milestone in multi-use of offshore wind farms. North Sea Farmers, Deltares, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and Silvestrum Climate Associates are investigating the future for seaweed farming.