University of Southampton researchers visit Dutch storm surge barriers
SMMI member Dr Ivan Haigh , Addina Inayatillah (Naya), and Sunke Trace-Kleeberg have recently returned from the Netherlands where they visited 6 storm surge barriers and networked with employees from Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch Ministry from Infrastructure and Water. The purpose of their visit was to gain an understanding of the specific characteristics and diversity of Dutch Storm Surge Barriers as well as to build connections.
The visit took place between the 8-12 November and consisted of visiting and touring each of the 6 storm surge barriers that are managed by Rijkswaterstaat (the Hollandsche IJssel Barrier, the Maeslant Barrier, the Hartel Barrier, the Eastern Scheldt barrier, the Haringvliet Barrier and the Ramspol Barrier). The trip was hosted by Marc Walraven, Senior Advisor of Storm Surge Barriers at Rijkswaterstaat. Each tour gave an insight into how every barrier is maintained and operated on a daily basis.
The visit also included a presentation by Dr. Ivan Haigh on sea-level rise, results from a previous project on the Thames Barrier, and preliminary findings about past and future closures of Dutch storm surge barriers. The Netherlands Water Management Centre was also visited, providing information on how forecasts are made and used for the Dutch water system. One of the highlights of the visit was an expert meeting where a discussion about future projects and collaborations took place, which focused on challenges in the near future regarding planning maintenance due to the changing climate. The trip concluded with a 3 hour-session where ideas and plans moving forward were discussed.
Virtual meetings have their place, but nothing beats seeing the barriers up close and being able to have face to face conversations. In these uncertain times due to Covid, Ivan, Naya, and Sunke are immensely grateful for the hard work that went into planning and running this trip. They would like to say a big thank you to Rijkswaterstaat employees for leading the barrier tours, sharing experiences and discussing the challenges regarding planning maintenance with changing climate. Ivan, Naya and Sunke got a very valuable insight and information to launch their research projects into how to adapt maintenance strategies.
Dr Ivan Haigh, Associate Professor in Coastal Oceanography, was awarded the prestigious Knowledge Exchange Fellowships on helping storm surge barriers prepare for climate change. Addina Inayatillah (Naya) has been working as research technician on a project funded by Rijkswaterstaat which is assessing past and future changes in Dutch storm surge barrier closures. Sunke Trace-Kleeberg is a PhD Student, partly funded by Rijkswaterstaat, looking at maintenance windows and forecast errors. The University of Southampton is also the newest university member to I-STORM , the international network for storm surge barriers.
