Hotspot Schiphol Mainport

Schiphol airport and the surrounding area ('Schiphol Mainport') are very vulnerable to climate change. The airport is situated, from a hydrology point of view, in one of the most complex and fragile urban areas in the world. There is no doubt that continued land subsidence, coupled with more intense periods of precipitation and drought and with an accelerated rise in sea levels, will force fundamental changes to take place in the design and use of the whole of the Schiphol region.

Climate change and the resulting change in weather conditions not only affect daily operations at Schiphol airport, but are also a determining factor in possible future expansion. Schiphol needs to anticipate such changes in weather and the climate if it is to maintain its competitive position as a mainport.   

Climate change is a driving force for research into adaptation possibilities, to enable the Schiphol area to live securely with water and to enable solutions to be found for the strain Schiphol places on the region. Various areas will be particularly affected by such adaptation, for which more knowledge is required concerning changes in weather and the climate and their effects:

• water management, in particular water quantity and quality
• spatial design, in particular the reliability of airport capacity in the long term
• the airport operation, in particular reliability in the short term
• related issues, such as maintenance activities

Objective
Develop knowledge in order to climate proof Schiphol and to contribute to sustainable operations at Schiphol Mainport, now and in the future.

The Climate Proof Schiphol programme has two themes:

1. spatial design (issues such as drainage, salinisation and water level management, the attraction of land to birds and the relationship with the soil-water vegetation system)
2. operations (the better prediction of weather conditions, noise production prediction and methods to prevent water pollution resulting from the use of de-icing chemicals)

Midterm Assessment 2012 (webpage) Midterm Review Report: Sonja Döpp (Knowledge for Climate) (ed), Peter van den Brink (Amsterdam Airport Schiphol) (2012). Hotspot Mainport Schiphol, Midterm Assessment 2012, KfC report number 65/2012.

	HSMS01: WindVisions - an airport Wind and Visibility Monito-ring System for critical weather conditions in a changing climate The objective of this proposal is to develop a Wind and Visibility Monitoring System (WindVisions) at Mainport Schiphol. The system will consist of a vertically scanning remote sensing instrument, a so-called light or sound detecting and ranging instrument (LIDAR... read more
	HSMS02: Climatology and climate scenarios Mainport Schiphol Meteorological conditions have a great influence on air traffic. The Schiphol Airport authorities, Air Traffic Control the Netherlands and the airlines on Schiphol need climate data for future operational, infrastructural and spatial planning to enable a sustainable organization and infrastructure of the airport. This project will deliver tailored information about the current local climate on... read more
	HSMS03: The impact of climate change on the critical weather conditions at Schiphol airport The aim of the IMPACT project is: 1) to better understand the impact of climate change on the Schiphol operations, and 2) to provide new innovative tools to analyse and forecast the weather at the airport with the accuracy that Schiphol operations requires. Adequate analysis and forecasting tools are needed for daily Schiphol... read more
	HSRS01: Climate scan Schiphol region The Schiphol region is an important economic driver which is very dynamic. Not only due to the presence of the Schiphol airport, but also because of several extensive projects which play an important role in the development of the Northern part of the Randstad. This research is about the current spatial planning as well as future spatial developments which are currently under preparation... read more