Three Sisters

7th Joint Call: Three Sisters

The proposal aims to strengthen geodetic resilience and adaptation to climate change by integrating data on elevation, sea level rise, and land subsidence for three vulnerable low-lying regions: the Netherlands, Singapore, and Indonesia. By combining multiple geodetic techniques and infrastructures, the project develops a prototype monitoring service for climate change adaptation.
Posted on

Background

One of the most pressing consequences of climate change is sea level rise, which, in combination with low-lying urbanized areas and land subsidence, creates severe risks for coastal resilience. The Netherlands, Singapore, and Indonesia (the “three sisters”) are highly exposed to this toxic combination and require robust long-term monitoring and adaptation strategies.

Geodesy provides key data on elevation, land subsidence, and sea levels, critical for policymaking and climate adaptation. Long-term, precise, and reliable measurements are required, but current infrastructures often operate in isolation. New technologies such as satellite radar interferometry (InSAR) must be integrated with existing systems (levelling campaigns, GNSS, tide gauges, gravity stations, airborne laser scanning) for effective monitoring.

The project

Three Sisters will:

  • Review the existing geodetic infrastructure in the Netherlands, Singapore, and Indonesia.
  • Develop metrics to assess adequacy for monitoring climate-related processes.
  • Propose and design optimal integration of eight different geodetic techniques, focusing on disentangling land elevation, sea level, and subsidence signals.
  • Develop algorithms and methods to estimate temporal changes in sea level and land motion.
  • Establish a prototype monitoring service for situational awareness, supporting long-term climate adaptation policies.

The science

The project combines geodesy, remote sensing, earth observation, and climate science. Key advances include:

  • Integration of heterogeneous geodetic benchmarks into a unified monitoring framework.
  • Application of InSAR for high-resolution land subsidence monitoring.
  • Linking tide gauge data with geodetic reference frames to harmonise land–sea measurements.
  • Development of long-term datasets critical for climate adaptation, coastal planning, and disaster resilience.

The team

  • Prof. Dr. Ramon Hanssen (CoordinatorI, Delft University of Technology (TU Delft), The Netherlands
  • Dr. Heri Andreas, Bandung Institute of Technology, Indonesia
  • Dr. Sang-Ho Yun, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

 

Contact:

Prof. Dr. Ramon Hanssen                       E-Mail: r.f.hanssen@tudelft.nl 

Tags
ENVIRONMENT/CLIMATE CHANGE