Hydroacoustic Seafloor Monitoring and Hydrodynamics West of Sylt and Northeast of Helgoland (German Bight) - Cruise Report AL-519-1
The cruise AL519-1 was executed in the frame of BMBF research project STENCIL (strategies and tools for environment-friendly shore nourishments as climate change impact low-regret measures). It is a jointproject between the AlfredWegenerInstitutefor Polar and Marine Researchin List on Sylt, RWTH Aachen University, Forschungszentrum Küste in Hannover, Leichtweiß-Institute für Wasserbau in Braunschweig and Ludwig-Franzius-Institute in Hannover. The project aims tomakethefirst step of a longer term vision towards an ICZM (integrated coastal zone management) and EAM(Ecosystem Approach to Management)for shore nourishments. Thefocus isthe German WaddenSea with the island of Sylt asthepilot site. During the cruise, several hydroacoustic devices were deployed within three different survey areas. The measurements took place in the contextof a monitoring program,which investigates the hydrodynamic and morphodynamic conditions in the area of the largest sand mining site in the German Bight.The aim is to figure outwhich impactson marine habitats occurbecause of the human activities. Within the excavationpits(depth of max. 20 m),only a very slow refill with muddy material is noticeable while the habitats in this area are permanently changed. However, the marine habitat in immediate vicinity seems unaffected.