Assessing past and future closures of storm surge barriers

Rising mean sea levels threaten many low-lying coastal areas in many ways, including raising extreme sea-level events. Extreme sea-level events can give rise to serious coastal flooding and erosion. The Netherlands is especially vulnerable to sea level rise and coastal flooding and erosion, as approximately 50% of its land area is less than 1 m above mean sea level.

Netherlands literally means 'lower countries'. Today, almost half of the Netherlands' 17 million inhabitants live along its 350 km coast or in regions which are near to or below mean sea level.

Across the Netherlands, six storm surge barriers form an important part of the Delta Works, which protects large areas of land from flooding. Storm surge barriers are moveable flood gates or barriers at estuaries, tidal inlets and river mouths which close, automatically or otherwise, when water levels are extremely high. With the rate of mean sea level rise projected to accelerate over the remainder of the 21st century and beyond, it is expected the storm surge barriers will need to close more and more regularly, with important implications for operation, management and maintenance windows.

This PhD project will assess past and future closures of the storm surge barriers in the Netherlands and explore implications for the Thames Barrier, the new Venice Barrier, and other barriers around the world.