Deltas are low-relief landforms that are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. Impact assessmen... more Deltas are low-relief landforms that are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. Impact assessments of relative sea-level rise in deltas primarily depend on elevation data accuracy and how well the vertical datum matches local sea level. Unfortunately, many major deltas are located in data-sparse regions, forcing researchers and policy makers to use low-resolution, global elevation data obtained from satellite platforms. Using a new, high-accuracy elevation model of the Vietnamese Mekong delta, we show that quality of global elevation data is insufficient and underscore the cruciality to convert to local tidal datum, which is often neglected. The novel elevation model shows that the Mekong delta has an extremely low mean elevation of ~0.8 m above sea level, dramatically lower than the earlier assumed ~2.6 m. Our results imply major uncertainties in sea-level rise impact assessments for the Mekong delta and deltas worldwide, with errors potentially larger than a century of sea-level ...
To support strategic water management, a new scenario method is being developed to explore possib... more To support strategic water management, a new scenario method is being developed to explore possible non-linear long-term developments of the coupled water-society system. This method entails a policy-game in which players compete over future water management policy. The game involves the formation and dynamical change of advocacy coalitions in which players holding similar perspectives on water management cooperate. Shifts in the positions and / or relative power of the various coalition perspectives - under various scenario drivers and shock events - are assumed representative for possible real-life future shifts of world view and management style at the societal level. The game involves various modelling tools. Players interact with an integrated computer model of the water system, to explore the long-tem impacts of various drivers, and the consequences of adopted management strategies. Furthermore, an analytical perspective mapping tool is used to visualise and quantify the devel...
The beach-ridge sequence of the Usumacinta–Grijalva delta borders a 300 km long section of ... more The beach-ridge sequence of the Usumacinta–Grijalva delta borders a 300 km long section of the southern Gulf of Mexico coast. With around 500 beach ridges formed in the last 6500 years, the sequence is unsurpassed in the world in terms of numbers of individual ridges preserved, continuity of the record, and temporal resolution. We mapped and dated the most extensively accreted part of the sequence, linking six phases of accretion to river mouth reconfigurations and constraining their ages with…
Many abandoned channels and dike-breach scour holes characterize the floodplains at the apex of t... more Many abandoned channels and dike-breach scour holes characterize the floodplains at the apex of the Rhine Delta (Germany and the Netherlands). This study demonstrates the suitability of sedimentary records for (palaeo)flood characterization. Based on a network of sites, it is possible to provide an accurate (internally cross-validated) flood chronology for the Lower Rhine and delta, and to reconstruct regional differences in the impact of floods (e.g., by ice jams or local dike breaches). Moreover, given the preservation of filled oxbows from all periods along the Lower Rhine, it is possible to extend flood chronologies and magnitude estimations back to the Early Holocene using sedimentary data.
4th International Geologica Belgica Meeting 2012. Moving Plates and Melting Icecaps – Processes a... more 4th International Geologica Belgica Meeting 2012. Moving Plates and Melting Icecaps – Processes and Forcing Factors in Geology. Brussels 11-14/09/12
Deltas are low-relief landforms that are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. Impact assessmen... more Deltas are low-relief landforms that are extremely vulnerable to sea-level rise. Impact assessments of relative sea-level rise in deltas primarily depend on elevation data accuracy and how well the vertical datum matches local sea level. Unfortunately, many major deltas are located in data-sparse regions, forcing researchers and policy makers to use low-resolution, global elevation data obtained from satellite platforms. Using a new, high-accuracy elevation model of the Vietnamese Mekong delta, we show that quality of global elevation data is insufficient and underscore the cruciality to convert to local tidal datum, which is often neglected. The novel elevation model shows that the Mekong delta has an extremely low mean elevation of ~0.8 m above sea level, dramatically lower than the earlier assumed ~2.6 m. Our results imply major uncertainties in sea-level rise impact assessments for the Mekong delta and deltas worldwide, with errors potentially larger than a century of sea-level ...
To support strategic water management, a new scenario method is being developed to explore possib... more To support strategic water management, a new scenario method is being developed to explore possible non-linear long-term developments of the coupled water-society system. This method entails a policy-game in which players compete over future water management policy. The game involves the formation and dynamical change of advocacy coalitions in which players holding similar perspectives on water management cooperate. Shifts in the positions and / or relative power of the various coalition perspectives - under various scenario drivers and shock events - are assumed representative for possible real-life future shifts of world view and management style at the societal level. The game involves various modelling tools. Players interact with an integrated computer model of the water system, to explore the long-tem impacts of various drivers, and the consequences of adopted management strategies. Furthermore, an analytical perspective mapping tool is used to visualise and quantify the devel...
The beach-ridge sequence of the Usumacinta–Grijalva delta borders a 300 km long section of ... more The beach-ridge sequence of the Usumacinta–Grijalva delta borders a 300 km long section of the southern Gulf of Mexico coast. With around 500 beach ridges formed in the last 6500 years, the sequence is unsurpassed in the world in terms of numbers of individual ridges preserved, continuity of the record, and temporal resolution. We mapped and dated the most extensively accreted part of the sequence, linking six phases of accretion to river mouth reconfigurations and constraining their ages with…
Many abandoned channels and dike-breach scour holes characterize the floodplains at the apex of t... more Many abandoned channels and dike-breach scour holes characterize the floodplains at the apex of the Rhine Delta (Germany and the Netherlands). This study demonstrates the suitability of sedimentary records for (palaeo)flood characterization. Based on a network of sites, it is possible to provide an accurate (internally cross-validated) flood chronology for the Lower Rhine and delta, and to reconstruct regional differences in the impact of floods (e.g., by ice jams or local dike breaches). Moreover, given the preservation of filled oxbows from all periods along the Lower Rhine, it is possible to extend flood chronologies and magnitude estimations back to the Early Holocene using sedimentary data.
4th International Geologica Belgica Meeting 2012. Moving Plates and Melting Icecaps – Processes a... more 4th International Geologica Belgica Meeting 2012. Moving Plates and Melting Icecaps – Processes and Forcing Factors in Geology. Brussels 11-14/09/12
Rivers in developed regions are under significant stress due to nutrient enrichment generated mai... more Rivers in developed regions are under significant stress due to nutrient enrichment generated mainly by human activities. Excess nitrogen and phosphorus emissions are the product of complex dynamic systems influenced by various factors such as demographic, socio-economic and technological development. Using a Catalan river catchment, La Tordera (North-East of Spain), as a case study of an integrated and interdisciplinary environmental assessment of nutrient flows, we present and discuss the development of narrative socio-economic scenarios through a participatory process for the sustainable management of the anthropogenic sources of nutrients, nitrogen and phosphorus.
In this context, scenarios are an appropriate tool to assist nutrient emissions modelling, and to assess impacts, possible
pathways for socio-economic development and associated uncertainties. Evaluated against the 1993–2003 baseline period, scenarios target the 2030 horizon, i.e. through the implementation process of the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC). After a critical examination of the methodology used in the participatory development of socio-economic scenarios, we present four possible futures (or perspectives) for the Catalan river catchment conceived by stakeholders invited to a workshop. Keys to the success of such a participatory process were trust, which enhanced openness, and disagreements, which fostered the group’s creativity for scenario development. The translation of narrative socio-economic scenarios into meaningful nutrient emission scenarios is also discussed. By integrating findings of natural sciences and socio-economic analysis, we aim to assist decision makers and stakeholders in evaluating optimal management strategies for the anthropogenic sources of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Public letter (in dutch) in response to a proposed Dutch national law regarding registration of s... more Public letter (in dutch) in response to a proposed Dutch national law regarding registration of subsurface datasets and models.
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Papers by Hans Middelkoop
In this context, scenarios are an appropriate tool to assist nutrient emissions modelling, and to assess impacts, possible
pathways for socio-economic development and associated uncertainties. Evaluated against the 1993–2003 baseline period, scenarios target the 2030 horizon, i.e. through the implementation process of the Water Framework Directive (Directive 2000/60/EC). After a critical examination of the methodology used in the participatory development of socio-economic scenarios, we present four possible futures (or perspectives) for the Catalan river catchment conceived by stakeholders invited to a workshop. Keys to the success of such a participatory process were trust, which enhanced openness, and disagreements, which fostered the group’s creativity for scenario development. The translation of narrative socio-economic scenarios into meaningful nutrient emission scenarios is also discussed. By integrating findings of natural sciences and socio-economic analysis, we aim to assist decision makers and stakeholders in evaluating optimal management strategies for the anthropogenic sources of nitrogen and phosphorus.
Response to points made in all letters, including ours (01-Aug-2012):
http://www.internetconsultatie.nl/basisregistratieondergrond
Original letter:
http://www.internetconsultatie.nl/basisregistratieondergrond/reacties