Thanks to the many photos sent in every day by citizens, it is possible to retrace the evolution of Santocha beach from December 2021 to December 2022 and to make some initial scientific conclusions.
The particularity of the site :
- an erosion of the merlon (sandy bulge forming the top of the beach) with a steeper slope on the first photographs;
- a lowering of the beach between January and December 2022;
- natural recharging of the upper beach with sand;
- mechanical nourishment of the sea wall via a by-pass system last spring.
When the sand covers the rocky outcrops on the left side of the beach (southwest), the outcrops on the right side of the beach (northeast) are uncovered, and vice versa.
Thanks to these photos, we can also see the planting of Christmas trees, collected after the Christmas period as part of the operation “A tree for the dune”, organised by the town of Capbreton and the National Forestry Office. Their branches help to limit wind erosion, fill in the wind whistles and trap the sand that comes from the beach.
This operation helps to preserve the fragile balance of this ecosystem and is part of a global approach to protecting the dune, particularly through the actions of the ONF.
To date, we have received more than 400 photos from citizens, just for the Capbreton site! So, a big thank you to all the observers for the superb photographs.
