Post by Wageningen University & Research

🌊 How have human interventions reshaped tides in estuaries worldwide? In his PhD research at Wageningen University & Research, Joris Beemster investigated how activities such as dredging, land reclamation, and river straightening have altered tidal dynamics over the past centuries. The study, now published in Nature Geoscience, shows that these interventions have often amplified tides far more than sea level rise. By reconstructing over a century of tidal changes across 25 estuaries, Beemster found that in some cases the difference between high and low tide has more than tripled, even more than 100 km inland. These findings highlight that what is observed at the coast doesn’t always reflect what is happening further upstream. At the same time, the research points to opportunities. Since human actions play a major role, restoring estuaries to a more natural state could help reduce tidal amplification while improving ecosystem health and resilience. 💬 What do you see as the biggest opportunities or challenges in restoring estuaries to a more natural state? #PhD #climate #watermanagement #estuaries