We propose the construction of a Northern European Enclosure Dam (NEED) that stretches between France, the United Kingdom and Norway. NEED may seem an overwhelming and unrealistic solution at first. However, our preliminary study suggests that NEED is potentially favorable financially, but also in scale, impacts and challenges compared to that of alternative solution, such as (managed) migrations and that of country-by-country protection efforts.The mere realization that a solution as considerable as NEED might be a viable and cost-effective protection measure is illustrative of the extraordinary global threat of global-mean sea level rise that we are facing. As such, the concept of constructing NEED showcases the extent of protection efforts that are required if mitigation efforts fail to limit sea level rise.

Born and raised on Texel. Now, after a long journey of PhD (Tasmania, Australia) and Postdocs road (New York City and in Sydney), I returned to Texel as a Tenure Tracker here at NIOZ. I have lived on islands almost all my life and I need the sea to be close. This, and my naturally curious for how things work was perfectly combined in becoming a Physical Oceanographer, and now, here I am.