Designing an operational sand engine in shallow lakes requires very careful consideration of local conditions. Elements like: dominant wave directions and energies, grain size of locally available sediments, coastal morphology vary and are key to a successful sand engine
Monitoring water temperatures as a proxy for sedimentation processes with optical glass fibre cable works. More research is needed to develop as a way to measure sediment thickness.
The sand engine slowly adapts its forms to the original lake bottom. There is sand movement in north-easterly direction, but it is slower than expected.
Select the right scale. The discussions in Hindeloopen partly were about the choice of scale. The selection of the beach as experiment location did not fit in the larger scale Masterplan process of the municipality. The intention to negotiate with local stakeholders did create friction with the municipalities ambition to plan for the whole coast. Also larger scale sand transport processes in front of the Frisian coast were not sufficiently understood.
