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Coastal Lowlands by virtue of their position across the boundary of land and sea belong to the earth's most dynamic systems. This is true in the physical, i. e. geological and biological, as much as in the cultural and social sense. Although the nearness to the sea was and still is fraught with danger coastal lowlands have always attracted human interest, providing challenging opportunity, holding the promise of profitable enterprise. Coastal lowlands, especially where rivers enter the region, are the cradles of great civilisations and there, of old, populations reached highest densities. As an example, Dutch history is a tale of human struggle and endeavour with and against the sea. Dutch 'low landers' wrestled their land from the sea, in turn the sea forged a nation of independent fishermen, navigators, farmers and traders who built their towns and ships at the borders of the North and Zuyder Seas. As lowlands subside and sea level rises, apparently these days at an increasing rate, concern about this environment world-wide is also rising. It certainly was appropriate and timely for the Royal Geological and Mining Society of the Netherlands when celebrating its 75th birthday to organize and call together a symposium, focussing attention on the geology and geotechnology of coastal lowlands; geology to better understand their formation and evolution, geotechnology to better manage and harvest resources as much as protect a unique and crucial environment.
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Coastal Lowlands geology and geotechnology Coastal Lowlands Geology and Geotechnology Proceedings of the Symposium on Coastal Lowlands organized by Mining Society of the Netherlands (KNGMG), and Geological The Royal The Hague, 23-27 May 1987 Edited by W.J.M. van der Linden Institute of Earth Sciences, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands S.A.P.L. Cloetingh Institute of Earth Sciences, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands J.P. K. Kaasschieter Nijverdal, The Netherlands W.J.E. van de Graaff KSEPL, Rijswijk (ZH), The Netherlands J. Vandenberghe Institute of Earth Sciences, Free University, Amsterdam, The Netherlands J.A.M. van der Gun TNO-DGV, Institute of Applied Geoscience, Delft, The Netherlands Springer-Science+Business Media, B.V. Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Coa,tal lowlands. l. Geology--Netherlands--Congresses. 2. Coa,tal enginecr·ing--Netherlands--Congrcsses. 3. Engineering geology--Netherlands--Congresses. 4. Coastal engineering--Congresses. I. Linden, W. J. M. van der (Willem II. Nederlands Geologisch Jan Marie), 1931Mijnbouwkundig Genootschap. 88-27361 554.92 QE273.C63 1989 ISBN 978-94-017-1064-0 ( eBook) ISBN 978-90-481-403 8-1 DOI 10.1007/978-94-017-1064-0 All Rights Reserved © 1989 by Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht Originally published by Kluwer Academic Publishers in 1989 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1989 No part of the material protected by this copyright notice may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from the copyright owner. Preface Coastal Lowlands by virtue of their position across the boundary of land and sea belong to the earth's most dynamic systems. This is true in the physical, i.e. geological and biological, as much as in the cultural and social sense. Although the nearness to the sea was and still is fraught with danger coastal lowlands have always attracted human interest, providing challenging opportunity, holding the promise of profitable enterprise. Coastal lowlands, especially where rivers enter the region, are the cradles of great civilisations and there, o