Disentangling and Parameterizing Shallow Sources of Subsidence: Application to a Reclaimed Coastal Area, Flevoland, the Netherlands

Abstract

The natural surface area of many coastal and delta plains has been increased by land reclamation in response to growing populations. These reclaimed lands are often experiencing subsidence. The reclaimed South Flevopolder in the coastal plain of the Netherlands has experienced severe subsidence after its reclamation in 1968. The subsidence is caused by phreatic groundwater level lowering and the associated aeration of the former subaqueous shallow subsurface and increased effective stresses. In this study, surface elevation measurements that quantify the subsidence, conducted annually between 1968 and 1993, and in 2009 and 2012, have been used to constrain and estimate the parameters in models that describe subsidence. For the estimation an Ensemble Smoother with Multiple Data Assimilation was employed. For the forward models, we employed correlations for compression (primary consolidation and creep), oxidation, and shrinkage of coastal deposits. Shrinkage of the aerated clay and organic clay layers was found to be the main contributor to subsidence, and the measurements could be represented well. The quantification of the model parameters allows for better subsidence forecasts. The stochastic method that was employed further facilitates to define a quality measure for forecasts in terms of a covariance matrix or a confidence range.