Sand dunes erosion at Crosby, Merseyside. Winds blow fine light sands off the Beach. Dune conservation using wood palisade fence, UK
At Formby Point there was extensive coastal erosion during the eighteenth century up to about 1830. This trend reversed dramatically in the mid-nineteenth century, when Formby Point moved out (accreted) about 300 metres around its whole arc. Landowners at the time took advantage of this period to assist the advance of the dune front by means of sand trapping fences and dune management, mainly the planting of marram grass. The remains of some fences can still sometimes be seen today on the beach near Fisherman's Path, Ainsdale. Although the Altcar sand dunes and the dunes to the north of Ainsdale Sand Dunes National Nature Reserve are now accreting (moving out towards the sea), the sand dune system around Formby Point has experienced continuous erosion throughout the twentieth century. The balance of evidence suggests that the present phase of erosion was primarily triggered at the end of the nineteenth century by a significant increase in the frequency of storm force westerly winds and destructive waves. The erosion was compounded by the effects of dredging, spoil dumping and training wall construction which significantly altered the bathymetry (shape of the seabed) in Liverpool Bay, leading to increased wave energy focusing on Formby Point. This focusing is greatest to the north of Wicks Lane, (between Lifeboat Road and Victoria Road at the National Trust site). It particularly affects the National Trust frontage. Today the erosion rate is greatest at the boundary between the National Trust site at Formby and the Ainsdale Sand Dunes National Nature Reserve, with an average loss of approximately metres per year over the past 20 years (1999 figures). Individual erosion events often result in a short-term loss of several metres. These events are generally transitory and conditions then settle back into the long-term trends identified.
Size: 3600px × 2400px
Location: Liverpool, Merseyside, UK
Photo credit: © MediaWorldImages / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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