Posted on October 22, 2025
Last summer marked a milestone for the SOURCE project: the first Living Lab transitioned from design to full-scale realisation. At Ameland-Oost, a shoreface nourishment is being constructed that will not only strengthen the coast but also serve as a unique scientific test site for the coming years.
The coastline at Ameland-Oost has been steadily eroding, with significant sand loss to the sea posing a long-term challenge to coastal safety. Rijkswaterstaat has therefore commissioned a large-scale shoreface nourishment: 3 million cubic meters of sand placed on the seabed about 105 meters from the beach. Boskalis Nederland is currently carrying out the construction.
Six Experimental Designs
What makes this nourishment unique is that six different configurations are being constructed. They differ in width and height, as well as in their distance from the shoreline. In addition, some sections include coarser sediment than the native sand. Together, these variations create a large-scale experiment that will provide unprecedented insights into how design choices influence both the behaviour and the effectiveness of coastal nourishments.
A Living Laboratory at Sea
Once construction is complete, SOURCE researchers will monitor how the nourishments reshape over time, how the sand spreads towards the beach and dunes, and how ecosystems respond. High-frequency bathymetric surveys, sediment analyses, hydrodynamic measurements, and benthic surveys will track the evolution of each design.
Towards Smarter Coastal Protection
The Ameland-Oost nourishment is a pioneering step in coastal management: a project that both safeguards the shoreline today and generates the knowledge needed for tomorrow. By testing multiple designs in real-world conditions, SOURCE is creating the evidence base for more effective, sustainable, and nature-based coastal defences.
The results will allow scientists and coastal managers to answer key questions: which designs deliver sand most effectively to the beach and dunes, how different geometries influence stability and lifetime, and what ecological impacts follow from these design choices.
What began as a design is now being built in the North Sea. In the years ahead, Ameland-Oost will show how science, engineering, and natural processes can shape the future of coastal protection.
