NORTHERN EUROPEAN ENCLOSURE DAM (NEED)

Feb. 21, 2020

Scientists have proposed the construction of a Northern European Enclosure Dam (NEED) enclosing all of the North Sea as an extraordinary measure to protect Northern European countries from rising seas as a result of climate change.

About:

  • The Northern European Enclosure Dam (NEED) is a proposed solution to the problem of rising ocean levels in Northern Europe.

  • It would be a megaproject, involving the construction of two massive dams of a combined length of 637 km enclosing all of the North Sea:
    • one between France and England, and

    • another between Scotland and Norway.



  • The concept was conceived by the oceanographers Sjoerd Groeskamp and Joakim Kjellsson.

  • According to them, separating the North and Baltic Seas from the Atlantic Ocean may be the “most viable option” to protect Northern Europe against unstoppable sea level rise (SLR).

  • The scheme's authors describe it as "more of a warning than a solution". As of 2020, the scheme is largely a thought experiment intended to demonstrate the extreme cost of engineered solutions to the effects of climate change. 

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