Mid-Holocene evolution of a tidal basin in the western Netherlands: a model for future changes in the northern Netherlands under conditions of accelerated sea-level rise?

A scenario for the future development of the Dutch Wadden Sea is derived from an evolutionary model for tidal basins during a rise in sea level. The model is based on the evolution of the Atlantic/Subboreal Holland tidal basin, between 7000 BP and 3500 BP. It emphasizes the balance between the storage capacity created by a sea-level rise and the amount of sediment available.

If the rate of relative sea-level rise exceeds the rate of sediment supply, the innermost (central) portions of the basin will not receive sufficient sediment for an intertidal morphology to be preserved. Eventually, sand will be deposited only in tidal channels and in the flood-tidal delta through which the sediment is supplied, mud deposition will occur in the interchannel areas and salt marshes will disappear.