Monday, February 20, 2017

"A gigantic migrating dune has almost completely buried Rubjerg Fyr [lighthouse] and ancillary buildings within a period of just 10 years"

TaD:
The problems began only a few years after the lighthouse was put into service. The buildings created shelter for the fine sand which was blown up from the steep cliff, and before long dunes had been formed between the lighthouse and the sea. The lighthouse master's vegetable garden was buried by sand and the well quickly filled up.

In order to moderate the sand migration, wild rye was planted in the dunes, but this simply resulted in the dune increasing in volume. The more planting that went on, the bigger the dune became. Within just a few decades, the sand had become so high that it was impossible to see the lighthouse from the sea.
It's been turned into an art project: