From light signals to sediment pathways: developing luminescence as a sediment tracing tool

Coastal regions are increasingly under pressure from climate change. One widely used nature-based protection strategy is sand nourishment: adding sand to the system and letting natural processes reshape the coast. Yet what actually happens to this sand once it enters the sea is still poorly understood.

In this PhD, I developed and tested new tools based on luminescence, a natural light signal stored in sand grains over time, to study how nourishment sand moves and spreads in a tidal inlet. These signals reset when grains are exposed to sunlight, making them a kind of natural memory of burial and transport.

By improving how these signals are measured and interpreted, and applying them in a real coastal system, namely the tidal inlet of Ameland in the Wadden Sea, my research offers new ways to understand sediment dynamics. This helps evaluate and design more effective and sustainable strategies for coastal protection in a changing climate.