Today, we visited the Deltaworks, which is a group of dikes, dams, and storm surge barriers throughout the Netherlands (specifically the southwest island-filled region) that began construction after the devastating flood in 1953. The idea behind Deltaworks is to limit the amount of water that enters Dutch lakes from the North Sea, while not disturbing the natural ebbs and flows of the ocean from entering the nation. To accomplish this, some very innovative solutions had to be fashioned.
This all took place at Neeltje Jans Delta Park, which can best be described as an educational waterpark (think of SeaWorld as the park, for example). The first thing that we did was take a guided tour, explaining the disaster of the flood and some of the technologies that were developed to lessen or counter it in the future, primarily focusing on the main, large storm barrier that was closest to Delta Park.
The project included various steps such as flattening the sand and ocean floor with vibrating rods 40 meters deep in the sand, laying a specially-designed mattress-like cover over the settled areas, and moving large rocks using specialized, precise equipment. Below is one of these tools, a large metal cage attached to the end of a crane to place rocks on the seabed with near-pinpoint accuracy. To actually construct the barrier, large concrete pillars were built side-by-side in a large land space, transported via specialized ships and vessels, and delicately placed on the mattress-like covers. One of the coolest parts of the construction to me was the fact that builders had no GPS systems at this point; they had to navigate using stars and markers.
After the tour, we all loaded onto a boat and took a cruise for about an hour. On the cruise, we saw several storm barriers (the one close to the park and presumably another or two from afar), one of the pillars that was left in the initial construction zone, and several sea banks (one of which had seals napping on it!).
We then had free time to venture around the park. A small group of us first went through the Ocean Expo, a trippy, dark museum showcasing various sea animals and how they lived. We then beelined for the aquarium, which was similar to the expo, but with real animals, featuring species such as morays, sharks, and new species of lobsters. Once we left the museum, we went straight to the storm simulator, which showcased artificial winds that went up to 140 km/hr. I have to say, this was the first accurate storm simulator I’ve ever been in (the wind outside was probably stronger than some that I’ve experienced). Before leaving the park, we watched a sea lion show and enjoyed ice cream, courtesy of the professors.
