By depositing a large amount of sand in a single operation, between March 2011 and November 2011, Rijkswaterstaat together with contractors and the provincial authority of Zuid-Holland created the hook-shaped peninsula, the Sand Motor.
This innovative method for coastal protection is the first experiment of its kind in the world.
During the project, trailing suction hopper dredgers picked up the sand ten kilometers off the coast of Ter Heijde to create the hook-shaped peninsula 2km wide and 1km into the sea.
Now a new phase has started in the research of the Sand Motor, a project called MegaPEX. Within the period of six weeks, a group of approximately 20 researchers follows the developments more closely.
The researchers hope to create high-resolution data of multiple research disciplines, varying from hydrodynamics to biodiversity.
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