Like many beaches around the world, the vast sandy ecosystem that stretches along Oregon’s central coastline is threatened by sea level rise and more powerful storms. “There are a lot of places where dunes are eroding that weren’t eroding in the past,” said Sally Hacker, a coastal ecologist and professor at Oregon State University who researches the landforms. As communities build right up to their edge, disrupting the complex system of sand, these dunes can become even more vulnerable to coastal erosion. The rolling mounds lining beaches are more than just big piles of sand. Beyond providing critical habitats for wildlife and having the potential to sequester carbon, these structures help protect coastal communities from damaging storms — one main reason some cities and towns are investing heavily in restoring and constructing them. In Salisbury, Mass., for example, a local group spent more than $500,000 to build a protective dune that washed away in a matter of days after a strong storm pummeled the beachside town.
The famed coastal dunes that inspired the shifting sand landscape of the desert planet Arrakis in Frank Herbert’s science fiction novel “Dune” are also under siege — from climate change and human development.