INCREASED WATER LEVELS DUE TO MORPHODYNAMIC CHANGES; THE LIMFJORD, DENMARK

The Limfjord is an estuary in Denmark between The North Sea and Kattegat. The Thyboroen Channel connects the fjord with The North Sea. The water levels in the western part of the Limfjord are strongly correlated with the water level in the sea at Thyboroen. Analyses revealed a close to threefold increase in the channel cross section over the last 100 years. This has led to a detailed investigation into the effects of the channel cross section on the extreme high water levels in the Limfjord now and in the future. For Lemvig in the western part of the Limfjord the water level with a return period of 100 years would have been 1.73 m with the 1958 channel bathymetry throughout the whole period and 1.99 m with the 2005 channel bathymetry. With the extrapolated 2060-bathymetry the 100 years water level will be 2.38 m. A number of measures to counteract the consequences of this development have been evaluated.