Polish coastal dunes – affecting factors and morphology

Abstract

This article describe Polish coastal dunes and the factors influencing their development. The Polish coast is 500 km long and mainly exposed for a northerly direction. It is a part of the southern Baltic shore. The Polish coast is composed of mostly loose sand, till and peat. Because the coast hardiness is so weak, it is under constant threat from storm surges as well as human impact caused by rapid infrastructure development and the coastal protection measures put in place to try and protect it. These protection measures destabilize the natural coast dynamics and rebuilding process. Almost 85% of the shoreline is built up by sandy aeolian deposits and covered by different dune types. Among them are typical foredunes or inland dunes in erod- ed coastal areas. The second type of dune coasts are built up by land dunes, which appear on the coast as a result of sea erosion causing land regression. Sometimes dunes can be found over moraine deposits or in front of moraine old cliffs. Nowadays these habitats are heavily threatened by storm surges and human activity. In some places there is an accumulation that leads to new ridge developments. This article describes these issues with an emphasis on the present dynamics of Poland's coastal areas.