"Sand and water march!": Reinforcing the dunes on the Darß
On the Darß off Prerow and Zingst, the most extensive sand replenishment project on the coast of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern is underway. Over a length of almost nine kilometers, the beach and dunes have been reinforced with 720,000 cubic meters of sand since mid-October, which, according to the Schwerin Ministry of the Environment, corresponds to around 60,000 truckloads. The project, which will cost ten million euros, is scheduled for completion at the end of March 2024.
It is a repeated reclamation of the state coastal protection dune, which will be reinforced in two sections. The work is being carried out by the Danish company Rohde Nielsen A/S from Copenhagen. The sand will be extracted hydraulically from the commercial Baltic Sea deposit Plantagenetgrund NW at a depth of eleven to 15 meters using two suction hopper dredgers.
The sand is loosened with water, loaded and screened on board and mixed with water and pumped through a pipeline to the beach. Excavators then take over the distribution there. After profiling the dunes, marram grass is planted. Once the work is complete, the beach will be higher and wider and the shoreline will have shifted at least ten meters seaward.
The reinforcement of the dunes on the Darß is part of the civil protection measures to combat the effects of climate change on the coast. This environmental project aims to enhance coastal protection and preserve the delicate ecosystem of the region.
Source: www.dpa.com
