Carbon Emission from Dredging Activities in Land Reclamation Developments: the Case of Jakarta Bay Indonesia

Abstract

Plans for land reclamation across Indonesia will involve four to fourteen times the country's total 2015 sand consumption. The impacts of marine and estuarine dredging to supply major projects of this type have been neglected in carbon accounting to date. This article provides a preliminary estimate of the operation and emissions of various Trailing Suction Hopper Dredgers (TSHDs) in extracting material from quarries and depositing it to appropriate sites. Four phases of the dredging cycle and speed-power proportions from maximum engine capacities are simulated to obtain the total and per phase emissions. Sailing contributes most (37 to 55% of the total dredging) emissions, but also exhibits significant variability compared with other phases. Decreases in the speed-power proportions lower emissions, but increase the overall dredging duration. Sailing emissions can be reduced markedly by restricting the travel distance between quarry and reclamation site.