Hey Ray: Sand dunes and why they're important
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - A windy day on the beach can leave you a sandy mess with sand everywhere from in your clothes to sand in your hair.
Windy beach days, however, can be very important to a beach's ecosystem, along with its ability to protect the coast.
So, how does sand making a mess benefit anyone?
You may have seen beach dunes if you ever made a trip to the beach. Beach dunes are those mounds of sand formed by the wind.
The first step in dune creation is sand blowing on the beach or in a desert.
According to the United States Geological Survey, sand dunes are created when wind deposits grains of sand on top of each other until a small mound starts to form.
Sometimes, debris from a plant or something that washed up on the beach can start collecting sand in a location.
Different wind patterns can cause different types of dune structures. Once that first mound forms, sand piles up on the windward side, or the side that is getting hit with the most wind. It will pile up more and more until the edge of the dune collapses under its own weight.
You can see how small things on the beach catch the blowing sand. Small mounds start to form. If this process continues, a dune will form. You may have also seen signs telling people to stay off the dunes.
There's a good reason for this.
Dunes are actually very important.
Native plants can grow on and in the dunes. They are also a habitat for animals and play an important part in the ecosystem. Dunes are also very helpful when hurricanes or tropical storms are near a coastline. They reduce wave impacts and erosion. They can also help reduce flooding.
Dunes are so important that dune replenishment programs occur to keep our coasts healthy. There are also dune studies that take place, and like weather models, there have been models created to predict dune changes and model how dunes changed in the past.
According to the National Centers For Coastal Ocean Science, North Carolina's Outer Banks have some of the highest rates of coastal erosion and sea level rise on the East Coast, and that makes it a perfect place to study dunes, their changes and how they can protect the coast.
