LTSER Dutch Wadden Sea Area - Netherlands

DEIMS.iD

https://deims.org/fcbf044b-20e2-4e87-894d-10bfe6e3a7ac

Basic Information

Site Name

LTSER Dutch Wadden Sea Area

Short name

NL-WZ

Country

Netherlands

Web Address

Basismonitoring Wadden

Waddenacademie

Programma naar een rijke Waddenzee

Site Manager

Rick Hoeksema

Bruno Ens

Site Description

The Dutch Wadden Sea area is a large coastal area (615510 ha) bordering the north of the Netherlands. A range of inhabited barrier islands (included in LTSER Dutch Wadden Sea Area) separate the Dutch Wadden Sea from the North Sea. The barrier islands comprise sandy beaches, dunes, grazed and ungrazed saltmarsh areas, and polders with meadows and villages. The Dutch Wadden Sea itself consists of intertidal mudflats and subtidal areas. The southern border of the area consists of inhabited polders, many of which consist of reclaimed saltmarsh areas. The Dutch Wadden Sea is part of the international Wadden Sea, extending along the coasts of Denmark, Germany and the Netherlands. The international Wadden Sea comprises the largest tidal flats system in the world, where natural processes proceed to a large extent undisturbed.

Last modified

2021-11-23 11:11:08

General Characteristics and Status

Site Status

Operational

Year Established

1872

Affiliation and Network Specific Information

Affiliation

Projects

Water Framework Directive (2000/60/EC)

Birds Directive (2009/147/EC)

Natura 2000

Ramsar Convention on Wetlands

OSPAR

UNESCO World Heritage Site

eLTER catalogue

EcoPotential (H2020)

eLTER (H2020)

Photos

Birds feeding on exposed intertidal flats with a mussel bed and a vessel fishing for shrimp in the gully

Ferry between Holwerd on the mainland and the barrier island Ameland navigating through a shallow gully

Oystercatchers, gulls and terns roosting during high tide on a grazed saltmarsh on the island of Vlieland

Educational excursion organised by Ecomare on the intertidal flats bordering the island of Texel with the island of Vlieland in the distance

Scientist walking on the grazed saltmarsh of the island of Ameland bordered by artificial dunes

Hide for observing birds on the edge of the saltmarsh on the island of Ameland with the mainland coast in the distance

Scientists transporting equipment on a large sandbank called Vliehors on the island of Vlieland

Scientist struggling with the wind and moving sand in young developing dunes on the Vliehors on the island of Vlieland

Research vessel Navicula from NIOZ and vessel Krukel from ministry LNV used for both inspection, monitoring and research, on exposed tidal flats

Downloading measurements from a measuring pole on board a research vessel

Birds roosting during high tide on a sandbank

Geographic

View in site map

Elevation (average)

0.00msl

Elevation (min)

-3.40msl

Elevation (max)

24.10msl

Download

Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]

Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]

Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]

Site Details

Ecosystem and Environmental Characteristics

GEO-BON Biome

Marine

Coastal

Biome

Coastal

Ecosystem Type

EUNIS habitat

Coastal habitats (B) » Coastal dunes and sandy shores (B1)

Coastal habitats (B) » Coastal dunes and sandy shores (B1) » Coastal dune heaths (B1.5)

Air Temperature: Average Annual

9.60°C

Precipitation Annual

850.00mm

Geology

From a geological point of view the Wadden Sea is very young, dating from the latest geological period, the Quaternary. The sedimentary deposits are mainly sand and silt, as well as organic materials, that are modelled and remodelled every hour by the constant working of water and wind, of tides, drifts and currents. Shallows like the Wadden Sea develop as the result of interaction between a relative rise in sea-levels and a supply of sediment. The rise in sea-levels leads to increasing water-depths. However, the supply of sediment results in the expansion and heightening of sand- as well as mud-flats, both becoming larger and higher, thereby annulling the effects of sea-level rising.

Vegetation

Tidal flats are covered with microscopic algae, macroalgae and very locally some seagrass. Saltmarshes are covered with salt-resistant low vegetation. Dunes are covered with drought-resistant shrubby vegetation and locally forests have been planted. Polders are covered with meadows, agricultural lands and forests.

Soils

Mainly sand and clay

Hydrology

The North Sea waters are affected by the warm North Atlantic Current, which moves northward along the western side of the British Isles and enters the Norwegian Sea.

Protection Level and Land Use

Protection Level (IUCN category)

Category IV – Habitat/Species Management Area

Type, Design and Scale

Site Type

Platform

Design of Experimentation

partly experimentation

Scale of Experimentation

plot scale

Design of Observation

mainly observation

Scale of Observation

beyond catchment

Equipment

Permanent Power Supply

Yes

Equipment

Data infrastructure » Data services » Data portal

Data infrastructure » Data storage » Spatial database (GIS)

Data infrastructure » Data storage » Relational database

Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Energy supply » Permanent Power Supply Location » Central station(s)

Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (within site) » Telephone line

Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (within site) » GMS/UMTS

Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (within site) » Cable based

Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » Telephone line

Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » Radio transmission system (repeaters. receivers. centralstation)

Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » Cable based

Supporting infrastructure » Staff room at site » > 5 places

Supporting infrastructure » Lodging at site » > 10 beds

Supporting infrastructure » Transportation » Boat

Equipment notes

LTSER Dutch Wadden Sea Area is huge. It includes villages, several research institutes and field stations.

Operation

Accessible All Year

Yes

All parts of Site Accessible

Yes

Access Type

boat

Permanent Operation

Yes

Operation Notes

LTSER Dutch Wadden Sea Area is huge and includes many sites and measuring towers.

Site Visit Interval

Maintenance Interval

Data Management

General Data Policy

The data provider is given and agrees to a statement of uses to which the dataset will be put

Network related information

LTER Site Classification

LTSER

Related Resources on DEIMS-SDR

Related External Resources

There is a total of 29 datasets for this site available on the eLTER Digital Asset Register (DAR). Click here to get an overview of these datasets.

Additional data

There is EURO-CORDEX climate scenario data available for this site:

Projected Near Surface Specific Humidity Change	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Precipitation Change	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Sea Level Pressure Change	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Surface Downwelling Shortwave Radiation	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Wind Speed	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Near-Surface Air Temperature	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Daily Maximum Near-Surface Air Temperature	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85
Projected Daily Minimum Near-Surface Air Temperature	RCP26	RCP45	RCP85

You can also download the entire climate scenario dataset for this site from the EUDAT B2SHARE data store.