Reconstruction and modelling of Holocene coastal evolution of the western Netherlands

Abstract

Large-scale coastal evolution in the western Netherlands during the Holocene was characterised by an initial stage of transgression followed by a stage of coastal progradation. The last 2000 years, the position of coastline of the western Netherlands was relatively stable, with local retreat and advance. Coastal deposits from the western Netherlands have been studied in detail at the Ypenburg area, in cores from coast-perpendicular cross sections near Haarlem and Wassenaar and in cores from the modern shoreface. The age of deposition has been determined with AMS 14C dating of single shells. A model has been used to reconstruct the wave-height reduction on the palaeo-shoreface profiles and model simulations have been used to reveal previously unobserved patterns in the large-scale coastal evolution. The combination of traditional sedimentological research with tools like cone-penetration tests (CPT), ground-penetrating radar (GPR), AMS 14C dating, and modelling of palaeo-conditions and stratigraphic modelling used in this thesis, presents a powerful means to unravel the geological past.