Smartsediment

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The Scheldt delta is experiencing strong economic development, with Antwerp as a global port, for instance. The Scheldt Estuary and the Eastern Scheldt are protected as a Natura2000 area and constitute a unique nature reserve for the border region. These various estuaries cannot be seen separately and they supply a range of valuable ecosystems and biodiversity. Unfortunately, over the past few years, both have been under pressure. SmartSediment aims to restore the balance of the biodiversity, soil, and ecosystem services in the delta through smart use of the available sediment. Together with the Flemish government, for example, the province of Zeeland is investigating the effects of dredging, dumping and moving sediment at fifteen locations in the delta. The soil ecology in the Lower-Sea Scheldt and the Western Scheldt are being monitored with the aid of Sediment Profile Imaging (SPI) technology, which takes photographs of the upper 5 to 15 cm of the soil. The main focus is on the Roggenplaat, an essential part of the foreshore at the mouth of the Eastern Scheldt. 200 hectares of the sandbank are being raised to combat further erosion and ensure that migratory birds and seals can continue using this area to feed.

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