Even in the summer months it can freeze in the dune pans of Bergen. More than two years ago, Alkmaarder Pieter Bliek fell under the spell of the different climate in the North Holland dunes. Day and night he is fascinated to measure the so-called microclimate. And that turned out to be not for nothing.
For years, Bliek has installed extremely precise measuring stations at various locations in the dunes. This allows him to read the temperature, but not yet predict it. In order to map and even simulate the microclimate, he must know exactly what the depth, width and volume of the dune pan is. He will be the first in the Netherlands to do so using drones.
Pioneering
“It is groundbreaking, because this has never been done before. It is of course a kick that you have been working on this for so long and now that all kinds of people are joining my research. Like alpha drones with which we are now collaborating free of charge to map this dune basin.” says Bleek. His work has now grown into a scientific study that, among others, has joined Professor Hans van der Kwast and Master’s student Yonas Asfaha.
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The aim of this research is to eventually make a simulation of the dune pan. Bliek does this together with Asfaha. When they manage to do that, they can predict the climate of the dune pan even better. It is important for ecologists, among others, that this happens.
Precise effects
“Now they use the average temperature to see what climate does to flora and fauna. But it can freeze here in the dune pans, while it is summer elsewhere. So you can see much more precisely what the effect of climate change is on flora and fauna “Blick explains. “But it will only be successful if the simulator is built in a few years’ time and results in a nice scientific article.”