Rijkswaterstaat investigates the effects of sand extraction

Rijkswaterstaat is launching a large-scale study into the effects of sand extraction on underwater nature near Ameland.

Measuring frames with sensors will be placed on the seabed at 3 locations to the north of the Wadden Island. Also, soil samples will be taken and analyzed during the research, which will last until 2028.

Starting this spring, Rijkswaterstaat will once again be adding sand for the coastal maintenance of Ameland: in the summer of 2025 on the beach of Ameland-West and in the months thereafter on the seabed at Ameland-Oost. The sand for these nourishment campaigns comes from the North Sea.

The aim of the research is to learn what the seabed life looks like before, during and after sand extraction. This is compared to similar places on the seabed in the area, where no sand is extracted (‘Before After Control Impact’).

In this way, knowledge is gathered about the return of nature to the seabed, so that this can be taken into account even better in future sand extraction.

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