Teaming up for better flood protection water management
A glance at the map shows how sensible it is for Professor Zheng Jinhai to work with Dutch scientists. After all, the challenges in the Pearl River delta are similar to those facing the Rotterdam Rijnmond delta. People in the Pearl River delta in southern China face the same risk as those living in the Rotterdam Rijnmond delta: flooding. The risk comes not just from a rising sea level; what happens upstream in both river networks plays a major role as well. “There are many common issues in the Pearl River and Rotterdam Rijnmond deltas,” says Professor Zheng Jinhai, dean of the College of Harbor, Coastal and Offshore Engineering at Hohai University in Nanjing. He shows satellite photos of both deltas. “Both are well developed river networks which are challenged by climate change and by runoff sediment discharge from upstream.” Sensible That is why Professor Zheng finds it perfectly sensible to research these challenges by joining forces with his Dutch counterpart, Dr Ton Hoitink of the Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research at Utrecht University. In their joint project, which is supported by the NSFC (National Natural Science Foundation) – NWO Programme, Professor Zheng and Dr Hoitink aim to determine how changes in the river beds caused by the impact – both natural and human – on sediment discharge influence the flood hazards in the Pearl River and Rotterdam Rijnmond deltas. In the Pearl River delta, the volume of sediment discharged into the South China Sea has decreased significantly since the 1980s.
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