Perspectives on environmental earth system dynamics

The quantification of geohazards and water resources in intraplate areas requires an integrated approach connecting monitoring, reconstruction and prediction of underlying processes. Intraplate rifts such as the Northwestern European rift system and coastal areas such as the Rhine - Meuse delta system are characterized by an interplay of climatic variations and neotectonics. The Netherlands Environmental Earth System Dynamics Initiative (NEESDI) addresses the interplay of lithosphere and surface processes through an integration of upper mantle and crustal scale studies with high-resolution analyses of the sedimentary record, geomorphology and hydrodynamic regime. Recent faulting imaged by seismic reflection data and trenching appears to exert a major control on uplift and subsidence patterns in the area, effecting coastal evolution and river dynamics in the Rhine - Meuse system.