Dune and geosol deposition

Localized causes of dune building The causes of dune building need not be limited to those associated with changing sea levels. Destruction of vegetation by fire or severe weather, is a localized event which could amply explain a significant increase in dune activity. This is because it is the vegetation which largely restricts sand movement, by forming a wind-break and by binding the sand with it's roots.

The early inhabitants of Bermuda attested to the importance of the stabilizing effect of vegetation in their accounts of dune activity which was released by the clearing of coastal brush. In a case near Elbow Beach, early in the 19th century, all but the chimney top of a cottage was buried by dunes, some of which climbed as high as 45 meters above sea level.