Samenvatting

This study aims to provide an update of the erosion rate of the intertidal flats and its subareas in the Eastern Scheldt to generate new predictions for designing and planning sand nourishment on the intertidal flats. Because of the suggestions of a changed rate of erosion in the Eastern Scheldt, the following hypothesis was formulated: The erosion rate of the tidal flats in the Easter Scheldt has decreased since 2010.

To investigate this hypothesis a research question was formulated. The main research question is: Has the erosion trend of the tidal flats in the Eastern Scheldt in the period 2010 until 2019 changed compared to the erosion trend in the period 1987 - 2010, as described in the reports by Deltares.

As a result of this study, the erosion trend of the intertidal flats showed the erosion trend is changed in the period 2010 - 2019 relative to the period 1987 - 2010. The erosion trend has decreased by 30%. This change in the erosion trend is also visible in the analysis of erosion versus height. The analysis showed there are more regression lines with a negative slope in the period 2010 - 2019 than in the period 1987 - 2010. This indicated that higher areas are eroding faster than the lower areas on the intertidal flats.

As a conclusion, a decrease of the erosion rate of the intertidal flats in the Eastern Scheldt leads to a change in the definition of the subareas on the intertidal flats, because these have also changed.