Sediment budget and morphological development of the Dutch Wadden Sea: impact of accelerated sea-level rise and subsidence until 2100

The Dutch Wadden Sea, a unique tidal wetland spanning nearly 500 km along the North Sea coast, is experiencing morphological changes due to accelerated sea-level rise (SLR) and subsidence. Research indicates that while the intertidal flats have been accreting faster than local relative SLR since 1926, this is primarily driven by sediment imports from ebb-tidal deltas and barrier islands rather than direct response to rising sea levels. Long-term modeling suggests that the impact of accelerated SLR on the Wadden Sea will remain limited until at least 2030, with noticeable effects only emerging by 2100 under high-end SLR scenarios. The study highlights the complex sediment-sharing system involving barrier islands, ebb-tidal deltas, and tidal basins, where processes like residual flow, tidal asymmetry, and wave dispersion play crucial roles in maintaining sediment balance.

Wang, Z. B., Elias, E. P. L., van der Spek, A. J. F., & Lodder, Q. J. (2018). Sediment budget and morphological development of the Dutch Wadden Sea: impact of accelerated sea-level rise and subsidence until 2100. Netherlands Journal of Geosciences, 97(3), 183–214. https://doi.org/10.1017/njg.2018.8