Northern European Enclosure Dam

To protect 15 northern European countries against sea level rise, a highly ambitious plan was put forward to build massive sea dams across the North Sea and English Channel, which will cut off the North Sea from the rest of the Atlantic Ocean. Because of the scale of this idea, it has captured the imagination of many, and has attracted quite some media attention. Although we desperately want this plan never to become a reality, future projections of high-end sea level rise and related uncertainty may warrant a solution of this proportion. Considering the high risks of such scenarios and the long lead time for adaptative solutions to be put in place, it is essential to plan for solutions in case the high-end scenario’s do become a reality.

There are a number of projects for master students. Some of the projects are related to simulate sea surface high, ocean circulation or changes in atmospheric weather patterns, because of constructing NEED. Other projects are more based on design, innovation and impacts on shipping industry, ecology, and economy. While other projects are more related to comparison against alternative protection measures against sea level rise.

Requirements

We seek Master's students looking for a research project of 6+ months. For different project subjects, different backgrounds are required. Dr Sjoerd Groeskamp will not be the main supervisor for all the projects but will be involved. See also the collaboration on this topic with Delft University through Delta Futures Lab; https://deltafutureslab.org/2020/future-flood-defenses/.

Contact

If you are interested in working on the concept of NEED, send an email to Dr Sjoerd Groeskamp (sjoerd.groeskamp@nioz.nl) for more information.