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Investigation, analysis and evaluation of dune erosion at the German Baltic Sea coast The coastline at the Baltic Sea in Mecklenburg‐Vorpommern and Schleswig‐Holstein is often protected by coastal protection dunes. The latest IPCC report predicts a significant sea level rise and an increase in storm surges in the future. Dune constructions are directly affected by this development. In the BMBF research project PADO, scientists from the Chair for Geotechnics and Coastal Engineering (University of Rostock) investigated in cooperation with various partners how dunes fail during a storm surge, how polders are flooded through a dune breach and how they empty when sea level falls again. For the investigation of the dune dynamics during storm surges, a large‐scale dune construction was built on the Baltic Sea coast in Rostock‐Warnemünde. Through complex instrumentation of the construction and a new innovative measurement system, all relevant processes during the storm surge could be measured. The obtained knowledge was the base for the calibration of numerical models, further investigations of the hydrology in the hinterland and for the environmental and socio‐economic evaluation of the possible consequences. With the results of the project new relevant knowledge on dune dynamics could be generated. The design approaches for dunes and combined coastal protection systems with dunes and dikes could be approved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]