Aurore Trottet

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Hydro Environmental Services Product Manager

Contact Aurore Trottet

Hydro-Environmental Services

It is generally agreed that care for the environment should be an intrinsic part of any water-related construction project. IMDC has always supported this growing general awareness by assisting our clients in delivering environmentally friendly projects. We do so by offering them a vast range of services that span over various project phases: environmental management related advise, Nature based Solutions (NbS), Environmental Impact Assessments (EIA), environmental permitting- , environmental policy studies and Ecosystem Services assessments (ES), development and application of sustainability assessment tools, stakeholder consultations, and supportive environmental modelling and monitoring.

Environmental Impact Assessment studies

Ecological impact studies at strategic and project levels (e.g., Environmental Impact Assessment, Appropriate Assessment, Flemish Ecological Network assessment, nature assessment, etc.) are an important tool as to achieve external integration and to support decision-making. IMDC has the inhouse expertise to assess environmental impacts for water related projects marine/offshore (e.g. dredging, coastal development, blue energy, and marine infrastructures), and onshore (e.g. inland water, groundwater extraction projects). We have built extensive experience with the EU Birds and Habitats Directives, the protection of habitats and species and in providing advice on how to maintain these habitats in a proper state of conservation in relation to new developments. IMDC has the necessary tools to produce a life-cycle analysis for blue energy projects, water quality modelling to assess the impact of turbidity increase, noise impacts, nautical safety studies, and providing mitigating measures.

Nature based Solutions

At IMDC we have acquired valuable experience in the design and implementation of nature-based engineering solutions for the management of rivers, estuaries and coastal waterfronts throughout several projects around the world. IMDC can perform and develop: 

    • ecosystem, hazard and risk assessments, and mapping, 
    • numerical modelling to evaluate current and future protection services of nature-based or hybrid solutions, 
    • risk and benefit assessment of a wide-range of adaptation options,
    • nature-based risk management strategy,
    • detailed design and implementation plan of the most appropriate nature-based or hybrid solutions to local needs and capacity.

Environmental policy studies

At IMDC, we offer specific environmental and technical advice, aiding governments to assess the relationship between the natural environment and human activities at sea in a beneficial manner, and thereby integrate environmental services into national development policies. IMDC has acquired valuable experience in developing a seascape concept for prevention and monitoring of seabed disturbance by performing multi-criteria analysis of the advantages and disadvantages. As such, IMDC provides solutions to achieve the Good Environmental Status within the Marine Strategy Framework Directive and/or the conservation objectives within the Habitat Directive. 

Ecosystem Service analysis studies and sustainability tools

Ecosystem services 

Ecosystem services are – in short – the benefits that humans retain from nature. Ecosystem services studies help to provide an objective balance of different benefits and costs for stakeholders, specify co-benefits, internalise externalities, and apply systems thinking. IMDC developed a range of state-of-the art ecosystem services assessment methodologies. Depending on the goals of the study and data and budget constraints, different techniques can be used;

    • quantitative: scores based on survey or expert judgment;
    • quantitative: data collection, average numbers from literature or modelling;
    • monetary: market value or a rage of non-market valuation techniques 

Complementing an ecosystem services study with an EIA ensures a full consideration of both positive and negative impacts from your activity onto the environment. 

Carbon zero targets and policy 

Carbon related services are currently a crucial part of Ecosystem Services and include a variety of topics (e.g. climate change adaptation and mitigation, biodiversity restauration, GHG emissions and measurements, Carbon capture and storage (CCS), Carbon capture and utilization (CCU) and Carbon dioxide removal (CDR)). 

At IMDC, state-of-the-art knowledge on blue carbon opportunities related to the waterborne sector are obtained and the magnitude and consequences of GHG emission from the sediment during dredging activities are investigated. 

All these gained competences and knowledge are in place to develop and offer beneficial zero carbon solutions and other carbon related services to our clients. 

Environmental sediment management

Environmental management of dredging

Dredging operations can cause significant disruption to natural habitats, leading to biodiversity loss, water quality degradation, and the alteration of hydrological processes. That is why, during dredging work, sustainable management of the seabed, rivers and estuaries is essential. IMDC can rely on a vast experience in measuring, modelling and studying sediment plumes and salinity intrusion in tender or execution phase. Also remote sensing techniques and products like sediment maps to assess turbidity have been developed extensively for the past 10 years with our partner VITO-TAP. 

Environmental Site support – follow up environmental management on site 

IMDC has international on-site experience with environmental management plans (EMP) of dredging and wet construction works around the world in all stages of the project, obtaining the required environmental permits and consents, as well as performing on site environmental management and managing stakeholders. 

Environmental monitoring 

Monitoring is an essential part to acquire a thorough understanding of the marine and estuarine ecosystem. IMDC assists in organising the baseline studies and data gathering activities, needed for the EIA or due diligence reports. IMDC is specialised in tailor made measurement campaigns to acquire the necessary data for any (complex) hydrodynamic, sediment or impact assessment related problem. Furthermore, lMDC developed the Synapps platform to easily visualise data from measurements and models in both space and time. This platform offers the user an innovative highly configurable environment allowing to visualise their data in custom-made interactive maps and graphs.

Environmental modelling

The objective of IMDC’s development of environmental models is to provide a basis for clients and stakeholders in different sectors and industries as well as water related governmental agencies and authorities to find the nexus between governing physical process and potential ecological changes. Our environmental models can simulate water quality, plastic transport, dredging plumes, ocean noise, regional effects such as eutrophication and global impacts such as climate change.

Water quality modelling 

Specifically, our biogeochemical model integrates nutrients, phyto- and zooplankton, detritus, oxygen and the sediment pool for nutrients. This model can be used to assess water quality along coastal waters including within harbour for current conditions and also for anthropogenic impacts such as increase traffic or climate change. 

Marine plastics modelling 

IMDC started developing a numerical simulation code to represent accurately the transport of (semi-) submerged plastic items through water bodies. Equations for transport represent effects of tidal flows, wind drag, biofouling, density stratification and Coriolis force.