Delta Climate Center investigates the natural history of Zeeland’s landscapes
What landscape did the Romans encounter when they arrived in Zeeland? How has the interplay of human and natural influences shaped the landscape since then? These are the central questions in the new Re-Flex Zeeland research project, led by the Delta Climate Center (DCC) in Vlissingen.
The project brings together Scalda college of secondary vocational education, the Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ) in Yerseke, Utrecht University, Wageningen University & Research and the Scheldt Delta Geopark. The aim is to gather new scientific insights into the history of the Zeeland landscape’s formation. The team is also creating 3D images of the historical landscapes, in collaboration with Zeeland municipalities and nature organisations. The images will soon be available online and at special locations, such as information points for residents and tourists that are yet to be developed. The team aims to increase appreciation for the Zeeland landscape.
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Flexibility of the Zeeland landscape
Re-Flex Zeeland focuses on a period when Zeeland was a vast peatland landscape. “The project’s name refers to the flexibility of the Zeeland landscape,” says Hugo de Boer, a professor at Utrecht University, who was appointed through the DCC, and the project’s initiator. “The landscape has undergone major changes in the distant past. We want to reconstruct that using 3D visualisations. Since the last ice age, sea levels have risen by metres, but Zeeland has managed to survive. Things only went wrong temporarily after the Roman period, probably because the reclamation of the peat landscape had led to land subsidence.” After the start of the Common Era, Zeeland was flooded for a period of three hundred years. Some five centuries later, it re-emerged from the sea as a salt marsh landscape. Re-Flex Zeeland is investigating how this happened.
Geopark Schelde Delta is delighted with the project, says Walter Jonkers of the Province of Zeeland. “The research contributes to our natural history knowledge of the Zeeland landscape and helps us to translate scientific information to a wider public through experience, education and storytelling.” Professor Johan van de Koppel of the NIOZ emphasises the importance of collaboration with local authorities, Stichting Het Zeeuwse Landschap and Geopark Schelde Delta. “We expect that the results can be used to enhance Zeeland’s appeal. We want to visualise both the formation of the province and the effects of storm surges using stunning 3D graphics. This will take you on a journey through Zeeland’s history.”
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The subsoil is a fantastic archive
Dr Wim Hoek and Dr Timme Donders of Utrecht University are conducting research for Re-Flex Zeeland into the landscape and vegetation development of Walcheren and Zuid-Beveland through soil drilling. “Zeeland’s subsoil is a fantastic archive of past events,” says Hoek, who previously spent years conducting research in the Brabantse Wal. “Through a detailed analysis of fossilised pollen, we can determine how the vegetation has developed. We are specifically looking for soil layers that reveal the moment the peat was submerged. In some places, the peat layer is covered by a thick layer of clay, which has compressed it significantly. Drilling into this is a major undertaking, but with the help of our Earth Sciences students, we’re managing it well. For them, too, this is a fantastic opportunity to learn more about the history of Zeeland’s formation.”
Simulating the dynamics of water and sediment
Dr Roeland van der Vijsel and Professor Ton Hoitink of Wageningen University & Research are investigating how the dynamics of the sea and rivers have contributed to the formation of the landscape in Zeeland. “We use computer simulations that can replicate the dynamics of water and sediment in detail,” says Van der Vijsel. “Although we don’t yet know exactly what the landscape looked like, we can use our computer simulations to investigate how the effects of land subsidence and storm surges shaped the Zeeland estuary during the Roman period and the Middle Ages. During my PhD research at the NIOZ, I always looked out over the submerged land of Zuid-Beveland with a sense of wonder. It’s fantastic that we are now investigating how this landscape came into being.”
Two PhD students and a postdoctoral researcher will be appointed as part of the project. The team will also involve students from Scalda, Utrecht Universit and Wageningen University & Research.
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Living Lab
The Delta Climate Center is investigating how we can create sustainable, climate-resilient and prosperous deltas. Utrecht University is one of the six founding members of the center, which launched in Vlissingen in mid-2023. The Zeeland delta serves as the DCC’s living lab: here, various stakeholders are working together to develop solutions to climate and sustainability challenges in deltas.