How does Building with Nature Research add to Baltic Practise?

‘Eco-friendly dredging in a modern world’

CEDA Seminar CEDA Seminar

St. Petersburg (Russia), Oct. 2009

Stefan Aarninkhof

Royal Boskalis Westminster nv /

Ecoshape

Content of talk

• Building with Nature Innovation program

– Motivation: Innovation is needed!

– Ecodynamic Design

– Objectives, partners, case studies– Objectives, partners, case studies

• BwN research with relevance to Baltic practise

– Ecological mining pit

– Turbidity caused by dredging (TASS)

– Management of data & tools

• In Summary

• Continuous growth of market for hydraulic infrastructure

• Development of large-scale projects characterized by

uncertainties and delays

• Extensive EMPs and monitoring requirements

Present situation (trends in market)

• Extensive EMPs and monitoring requirements

• Sustainable development increasingly important for

clients

• Specialist role (knowledge) shifts from client to

contracting parties

Sustainable development offers oppor-

tunites to reinforce competitive edge

Grensmaas (NL)

“Sustainable development offers opportunites

to reinforce competitive edge”

Maasvlakte-2 (NL) Port of Khalifa (UAE)

Port of Melbourne (AUS)

Building with Nature

Innovation is needed to do things differently!Innovation is needed to do things differently!

“Ecodynamic Design”

• Dynamics of natural system as starting point for design

and realization of hydraulic infrastructure

• From defensive approach (minimize environmental

impacts) to offensive approach (optimize full economic

Building with Nature approach

impacts) to offensive approach (optimize full economic

and environmental potential)

• Integration of disciplines: Engineering, Ecology &

Governance

“Ecodynamic design”

Conformity with natural system behaviour

Ecodynamic Design (1)

Ecodynamic Design (2)

Utilization of natural processes

Ecodynamic Design (3)

Explore potential for nature development

Natural shoreline protection (bio-engineers)

Accomodate natural dynamics

Ecodynamic Design (4)

Building with Nature program: Facts

• Program duration 2008-2012

• Budget 28,5 mln Euro, partly funded by Ministry of

Public Works and partly from partner contributions

• Programming developed & carried out by partners• Programming developed & carried out by partners

• Foundation EcoShape responsible for program

management & administration

• First products available in 2009 …

Partners Building with Nature

• Initiative: Boskalis and Van Oord

• Scientific Institutes: Deltares, Imares, NIOO-CEME

• Consultants: Witteveen + Bos, DHV, Haskoning, Arcadis

• Industry: IHC Holland, VBKO• Industry: IHC Holland, VBKO

• Universities: Delft, Wageningen, Twente

• Port authority: Harbour of Rotterdam

• Government: RWS-DI, City of Dordrecht

BwN Program objectives:

1. Develop ecosystem knowledge enabling ‘Building

with Nature (BwN)’

2. Develop scientifically sound design rules and norms

3. Develop expertise to apply the BwN-concept3. Develop expertise to apply the BwN-concept

4. Make the concept tangible using practical BwN-

examples

5. Establish how to bring the BwN-concept forward in

society and make it happen

Program Building with Nature

• Scientific knowledge: Link disciplines ecology &

hydraulic engineering; account for societal and

governance context governance context

• Realistic pilots (experiments) in concrete cases:

fundamental knowledge developed in practice

• Accepted tools to support ecodynamic design

(knowledge, models, data, best practices)

Programme Building with Nature – cases:

• Sustainable development

Holland coast

• Southwest Delta

• Markermeer – IJsselmeer Markermeer

The Netherlands

• Markermeer – IJsselmeer

• Singapore

• Generic research

• Adaptive monitoring

SW Delta

Holland coast

Markermeer / IJsselmeer

Examples of BwN research with relevance to Baltic Practise

Ecological sand mining pit

Turbidity caused by dredging

Management of data & tools

Research on sand mining pits: Context

• Increase of annual nourishment volumes (NL), hence sand mining

• No clear guidelines on ecology and sand extraction sites

• RISK: Conservative approach can lead to improbable prediction of effects and related mitigation measuresprediction of effects and related mitigation measures

• BENEFITS: Large potential for ecological development and mutual benefits for stakeholders– habitat diversity (benthos)

– Positive effect on populations of fish, birds & mammals

– increase economical value of a dredging area

• Research needed for habitat development predictions

Nov. 2006

Inspiration for ecological landscaping

no. of species vs. tot. # ind.

35

40

Benthos

density (m-2) Density and diversity per morphological

unit of tidal ridges (both banks)

Bruine bank

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

0 50 100 150 200 250 300 350

total number of individuals per sample

nu

mb

er

of

sp

ecie

s p

er

sam

ple

Tops of tidal ridges

Adjacent swales

Slopes

Bru

ine

Ba

nk

, M

ar-

Ap

r-J

un

19

92

Thornton bank

Research approach: Pilot experiment

Technical parameters (Dredging)What kind of equipment is available and what

extraction techniques are possible?

Technical parameters (Dredging)What kind of equipment is available and what

extraction techniques are possible?

Ecological parameters

What kind of ecological habitats can exist in these situations based on certain key

ecological indicators (benthos / fish)?

Physical parameters (Modeling)Which types of bottom morphology (shape and

size) will remain in the pit without being affected by natural morphological dynamics?

Ecological parameters

What kind of ecological habitats can exist in these situations based on certain key

ecological indicators (benthos / fish)?

Physical parameters (Modeling)Which types of bottom morphology (shape and

size) will remain in the pit without being affected by natural morphological dynamics?

Ecological Landscaping in mining pit

• Bed level variations are expected to enhance habitat diversity (benthos)

• Design of pilot experiment underway– Physical dimensions (L ~ 300-400 m, V > 1-10 Mm3)

– Optimize combined ecological & economic benefits– Optimize combined ecological & economic benefits

– Feasibility with governing legislation

– Design of monitoring strategies

• Project should increase awareness to gain ecological benefits in sand mining areas

Sand wave field at San Francisco Bay.

Creation of (temporary) new Habitats

TASS program: Turbidity caused by dredging

• TASS = Turbidity Assessment Software

• Objectives of SSB TASS program (2000-2009)

– Gain insight in dredging-induced turbidity to minimize environmental impacts and to facilitate realization of projects (tender phase & construction)(tender phase & construction)

– Develop & validate model to enable prediction of turbidity around dredgers

– Share proven knowledge with third parties

• Recent activities aim for collection of high-quality field data and validation of TASS software

TASS Trials in Bremerhafen (2006), Hook of Holland (2007) & Den Helder (2007)

B’haven (2006)

R’dam (2007)

DH (2007)

Overflow losses √ √ √

Draghead resuspension √

Propeller wash √

Passive plume near-field (benefits green valve)

√ √

Passive plume far-field √

Support data (board instruments, soil, …)

√ √ √

TASS Model set-up and validation (HR Wallingford)

Motion of dredger

Shallow water < 25m deep

Trailer process model

Passive plume modelC O R N E L I A

2. Re-entrainment of

bed plume by currents

and/or propeller

Deposition

Impact and collapse of bed

plume to form density current

Dynamic plume

1. Draghead plume

3. Surface plume

Propeller jet

Mixing of surface

plume by propeller jet

4. Erosion of local

bed by propeller jet

Passive plume

= 1+2+3+4

Current

Dynamic plume model

Passive plume model

Turbidity research in Building with Nature

• NTW 4.1: Turbidity in near vicinity of hoppers (PhD Lynyrd de Wit)

• Case Singapore

– TASS experiment

– Link to sensitive receivers, criteria– Link to sensitive receivers, criteria

• Case Adaptive Monitoring Strategies

– TASS experiment

– Explore adaptive strategies irt ecosystem

– Validation & operationalization of TASS model

• Plus: Resuspension (MIJ, HK, NTW, …)

Management of data & tools: Open infrastructure

wiki-platform for

communication

wiki-platform for

communication

BwN has adoptedOpenEarth standard

BwN has adoptedOpenEarth standard

In Summary

• Building with Nature aims for innovations in realization

of hydraulic infrastructure through ecodynamic design

– Natural dynamics as starting point for design

– Offensive in stead of defensive– Offensive in stead of defensive

– Integration of disciplines, awareness of context

• BwN approach will maximally explore environmental benefits of projects (� public appreciation)

• BwN program comes with relevant examples for Baltic

practise

Building with Nature isBuilding our Future

www.ecoshape.nl