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Showing posts with label The Netherlands. Show all posts
Showing posts with label The Netherlands. Show all posts
The Dutch have a saying: "God created the world, but the Dutch created the Netherlands".
The first defenses against the sea went up some 800 years ago. Today more than 2,400 kilometers of dikes shield the low, flat land—almost half of which lies below sea level—from invasion by the North Sea.
Water management is an important issue for the Netherlands, as due to its low height, approximately two thirds of its area is vulnerable to flooding, while the country is densely populated.
Natural dunes and man-made dikes, dams, and floodgates provide defence against storm surges from the sea. River dikes prevent flooding from water flowing into the country by the major rivers Rhine and Meuse, while a complicated system of drainage ditches, canals, and pumping stations / windmills keep the low-lying parts dry for habitation and agriculture. Dutch Water Authorities (water control boards) are the independent local government bodies responsible for maintaining this system.
Peat, or
turf, is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation.
Peat forms in
wetland bogs, moors, mires, and swamps. Peat forms
when plant material, usually in marshy areas. It is composed mainly of marshland
vegetation: trees, grasses, fungi, as well as other types of organic remains,
such as insects, and animal remains.
The struggle against the sea / water (the fight
against).
New landscapes
are created.
terps
= protection against the rising sea level.
dikes
= initially only used as protection, later more offensive, to reclaim land. For
example salt meadows (= kwelders) outside the dikes were reclaimed.
Polders
Water level
is regulated.
Types of polders:
- sea
polders
- peat
polders
- “droogmakerijen”
Problem
= outside water can seep through the dikes into the polder.
More space for water
In the
past = ‘watermanagement’ = to keep the land dry.
In the
future = ‘watermanagement‘ = water will be retained, areas will be deliberately
flooded.
The Port of Rotterdam is the largest port in Europe, located in the city of Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Rotterdam mainport is Europe's logistical centre with an infrastructure catering to all transport modalities. It consists of different distinct port areas and distriparks that facilitate the needs of a hinterland with 40,000,000 consumers.
From 1962 until 2004 it was the world's busiest port, now overtaken by first Shanghai and then Singapore.
In 2009, Rotterdam was the world's tenth-largest container port in the world.
In 2011 Rotterdam was the world's fifth-largest port in terms of annual cargo tonnage. Covering 105 square kilometres, the port of Rotterdam now stretches over a distance of 40 kilometres.
The port of Rotterdam consists of:
the city centre's historic harbour area, including Delfshaven;
the Maashaven / Rijnhaven / Feijenoord complex;
Waalhaven;
Vondelingenplaat;
Eemhaven;
Botlek;
Europoort, situated along the Calandkanaal, Nieuwe Waterweg and Scheur (the latter two being continuations of the Nieuwe Maas); and
The reclaimed Maasvlakte area, which projects into the North Sea.
The Netherlands is a geographically low-lying country. About 27% of The Netherlands and 21% of its population located below sea level, and 50% of its land lying less than one metre above sea level.
Most of the areas below sea level are man-made, caused by centuries of extensive and poorly controlled peat extraction, lowering the surface by several meters. Even in flooded areas peat extraction continued through turf dredging. From the late 16th century land reclamation started and large polder areas are now preserved through elaborate drainage systems with dikes, canals and pumping stations. Much of the Netherlands is formed by the estuary of three important European rivers, which together with their distributaries form the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta.
The Delta Works The Delta Works is a series of construction projects in the southwest of the Netherlands to protect a large area of land around the Rhine-Meuse-Scheldt delta from the sea.
The Delta Works consist of dams, sluices, locks, dikes and storm surge barriers.
Dams
A dam is a barrier that impounds water or underground streams. Dams generally serve the primary purpose of retaining water.
Example of a dam: The Haringvlietdam.
Sluices A sluice (from the Dutch word "sluis") is a water channel controlled at its head by a gate. Sluice gates commonly control water levels and flow rates in rivers and canals. A sluice gate is traditionally a wood or metal barrier sliding in grooves that are set in the sides of the waterway.
Example of a sluices: The sluices of the Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier.
Locks A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is the chamber itself (usually then called a caisson) that rises and falls. Locks are used to make a river more easily navigable, or to allow a canal to take a reasonably direct line across land that is not level.
Example of a lock:
Dikes
The modern word dike or dyke most likely derives from the Dutch word "dijk". Dyke or dike may refer to: a natural or artificial slope or wall to regulate water levels. A dike is called levee in American English. A dike / levee is an elongated naturally occurring ridge or artificially constructed fill or wall, which regulates water levels. It is usually earthen and often parallel to the course of a river in its floodplain or along low-lying coastlines.
Example of a dike:
Storm surge barriers
A storm surge barrier is designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding. The aim of the storm surge barriers is to shorten the Dutch coastline, therefore reducing the number of dikes that had to be raised. The Eastern Scheldt storm surge barrier (de Oosterscheldekering), between the islands Schouwen-Duiveland and Noord-Beveland, is the largest of the 13 Delta works series of dams, designed to protect the Netherlands from flooding. The construction of the Delta Works was in response to the Flood of 1953. The Oosterscheldekering was initially designed, as a closed dam, but after public protest huge sluice-gate-type doors were installed. Thesesluice-gate-doors are normally open, but can be closed under adverse weather conditions. In this way the saltwater marine life behind the dam is preserved and fishing can continue, while the land behind the dam is safe from the water.
Example of a storm surge barriers (TheEastern Scheldt storm surge barrier):
The "Maeslantkering" is the final protection work of the Deltaworks. Situated in the main access channel of the Port of Rotterdam it is usually in open condition. It has been designed to withstand a severe storm occurring once every 50 years. Example of a storm surge barriers (The Maeslantkering storm surge barrier near Rotterdam during a test closure):
The aim of the dams, sluices, and storm surge barriers was to shorten the Dutch coastline, therefore reducing the number of dikes that had to be raised.
