Coastal studies on the Holocene of the Netherlands

This volume of the 'Mededelingen Rijks Geologische Dienst' is devoted to the Holocene development of the coastal plain of the Netherlands. It comprises results of geological research of the past 5 to 10 years carried out in connection with the systematic mapping program of the Geological Survey and in connection with the Dutch research project 'Coastal Genesis'. The latter project involves a co-operation of engineers, geologists, physical geographers and historians. It started in 1986 and aims at a better understanding of the behaviour of the coastal zone of the Netherlands. In this project many studies are executed, ranging in subject from the detailed mechanics of sediment transport processes to the long-term and large-scale Holocene development of the coastal plain. The contents of the present volume consists of ten papers. All authors have the Dutch nationality and most of them work at the Rijks Geologische Dienst (Geological Survey of the Netherlands). Eight articles contain detailed descriptions and interpretations of data collected in parts of the coastal area. The remaining two are of a more overall nature and discuss respectively: the general influence of the Late Weichselian morphology on the development of the Dutch coastal plain (De Gans and Van Gijssel) and the influence of storm-surges and the like along the North Sea coast (Van Malde). The latter two papers are the first in this volume. thereafter the articles are geographically arranged (Figure 1), starting in the northeastern part (Van der Spek) and ending in the southwestern area (Ebbing and Laban). Especially the paper on sea-level rise of De Groot et al., based on data form the Frisian Islands, should be mentioned here for its more than local importance. Complementary to the text a visual impression of the Dutch coast is given by three coloured aerial photographs (see for the locations Figure 1): respective on page 2 (frontspiece), 4 and 9.