Research on salinisation processes in the Province of Zeeland
The fresh water resources in the groundwater system of the coastal province of Zeeland are at present jeopardized by various causes. Floods, droughts, eutrophication and salinisation of the ground and surface waters are some pressing topics. Moreover, sea level rise and climate change threaten the groundwater system even more. Water management in the province should anticipate on these changes. The province has initiated a study to get a better insight in the salinisation processes in the top system. The main goal is to analyse what measurements are effective in mitigating the salinisation of the water system. Special attention is given to the so-called rainwater lenses in agriculture plots. Agricultural crops depend on these shallow vulnerable water systems which float upon brackish groundwater and vary over the season in thickness. |
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Research on salinisation processes in the Province of Zuid-Holland
Large parts of the Province Zuid-Holland, the Netherlands, are situated several metres below mean sea level. Saline groundwater from the North Sea and from deep marine fine-grained deposits intrudes the upper aquifers. Natural processes and anthropogenic events of land surface settling, that have been going on for nearly a millennium, cause the salinisation of the subsoil. In addition, future sea level rise and land subsidence are expected to jeopardise the groundwater system even more. Water managers are concerned about the future state of this dynamic groundwater system during the coming 100 years. A 3-dimensional model was constructed to quantify changes in the groundwater system. The model predicts that past land subsidence and sea level rise lead to an accelerated inflow of saline groundwater towards the coastal groundwater system in the next centuries. |
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