A new CoastSnap station has just been installed in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, in Mimizan in the Landes department. This is the 6th CoastSnap station in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, following on from Lacanau, Capbreton, Saint-Jean-de-Luz, Biscarrosse and La Brée-les-Bains.
This participatory science initiative is part of the Observatoire de la côte de Nouvelle-Aquitaine and the local management strategy for the Mimizan coastal strip, with the support of the Communauté de communes de Mimizan and the town of Mimizan.
The observation post is located to the north of the Mimizan stream, on the terrace by the beach access opposite the Cap-Océan residence. Situated opposite the mouth of the Mimizan stream, it provides an opportunity to observe the various changes in a sector affected by both coastal erosion and coastal flooding. Today, the site is regularly recharged with sediment, and dykes are built along the banks of the current.
How can you become an actor in coastal monitoring and thus participate in a better knowledge of this environment?
Why not combine business with pleasure during your next trip to the coast? By passing near a site equipped with a CoastSnap observation station, citizens are invited to take a photo of the beach and share it via a dedicated form, by email or from an application. This photo will be added to a citizens’ photo library of the coastline. Through its analysis, it will be possible to better understand the evolution of the coastline at different time scales.
What happens to the photo?
Once the photo has been shared, it joins a bank of citizen photos that are compared with each other and then analysed by scientists using different image processing algorithms developed by researchers from the international CoastSnap network and the Observatoire de la côte de Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
Thanks to repeated shots of the beach from the same fixed point, it is possible to follow the evolution over time of the position of the coastline, variations in beach level, vegetation, etc. This information contributes to a better understanding of the evolution of these sites and to an efficient and sustainable management of our beaches.
The local community of Mimizan acts to protect its coastline
Since 2013, the Mimizan Community of Communes and the town of Mimizan have been committed to a continuous understanding of its coastline as part of its local coastal zone management strategy. With its coastal and fluvial character, the Mimizan coastal strip is subject to problems of coastal flooding, wind erosion and coastal erosion.
Thanks to field observations and improved knowledge of sedimentary movements, future risks will be better identified. It is therefore vital to study the transit of sand along the Mimizan coastline. This CoastSnap station meets this objective with a collaborative approach based on your involvement. Your photographs will be added to a bank of images of the state of the beach, making it possible to assess the position of the coastline, sand levels and observe the impact of swell and wind. The information gathered in this way will enable us to take action tailored to our region to deal with future changes. Capture the evolution of the beach, share your photographs and help us build a resilient future for Mimizan!
