Sandhammaren - Österlen

Sandhammaren is one of the few places in Sweden where beach erosion is a problem. The western part of the marine foreland, at Löderup, is eroding, threatening the vacation homes built on the beach. Recently a number of groins have been constructed in an attempt to restore the beach, or at least, stop further erosion.

To put this erosion in perspective, we here offer some maps showing the shoreline changes at Sandhammaren and Löderup (just east of Kåseberga on the maps) since the last deglaciation some 13,000 years ago.

11000 BC

High water level, higher in the north than in the south relative the present.

Deglaciation (Baltic Ice Lake) geography

9000 BC

During the regression, Sandhammaren Bank has accumulated (about 1 km³ of sand). After that followed a stillstand or minor transgression, in which the eastern slope of the bank was eroded (the situation shown below). The climate was cold, a birch tundra.

Younger Dryas (Baltic Ice Lake) geography

8000 BC

When the Baltic Ice Lake was emptied, the water level fell below -45 m and the whole map area became dry land. Small rivers eroded valleys that still can be seen on the bottoms, and the pine was dominating.

1500 BC

We skipped the events during the Ancylus lake and went directly to the Litorina transgression. The Sandhammaren foreland has still not formed.

2000 AD

It is only during the past few thousand years that the Sandhammaren dune field has been formed, during the regression. Sand is transported along the coast from west and north, and deposited at the headland. There is thus erosion at both ends, and accumulation in the center. It is not known if the headland as a whole is growing in volume or not at this time, since changes are very slow in a human time perspective.

The maps are copyright Ulf Erlingsson, and the description is based on his doctoral dissertation.

Go to the Skillinge page

Go to Hydroconsult's homepage