The summary and photos of the NCK symposium on 'Mud dynamics in the Southern North Sea and its interaction with ecological processes' held on Tuesday the 3rd of July are now avaiable online! Check it out here.
Mud plays an important role in the ecological functioning of the Southern North Sea. The reason for this important role is twofold: in the water column, suspended mud particles have a crucial influence on the light climate, thereby influencing primary production and the base of the food web. In the seabed, mud acts as cohesive sediment, which is often relatively rich in nutrients and provides an essential stable matrix for organisms to construct their burrows. Therefore, understanding the behaviour and transport of mud in the marine environment, and its interaction with ecological processes, bears great societal relevance for human activities taking place in the North Sea. These human activities include, but are not limited to, sand mining, nourishments and land reclamations. Considering that the magnitude and amount of human activities is likely to increase in the near future, it is essential to share our knowledge on mud dynamics in the North Sea. Therefore, TUDelft and Deltares (in cooperation with NIOZ) were organising this theme day.
