Cala Millor, Mallorca

A pioneering study of coastal change. | Assumpta Bassa

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterCala Millor08/06/2021 13:01
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Cala Millor beach is the focus of an in-depth study to assess the risks of climate change and to come up with an action plan for the future. It will examine where sand is lost and identify physical processes on the beach and the factors that cause them.

For years, the Cala Millor Consortium of hoteliers and Sant Llorenç and Son Servera town halls have been calling for the Costas Authority to undertake comprehensive regeneration of the beach. It suffers serious loss of sand year after year.

Since 2005, the beach has been monitored by the SOCIB coastal observation system. Scientific data are therefore already available, and the Balearic government has now selected the beach to be at the forefront of pioneering research into coastal change.

The effects of rising sea levels and of the marine climate will be studied by a project which could serve as a model for beaches elsewhere in the Mediterranean. The government's director of energy and climate change, Pep Malagrava, says that it is about assessing the dynamics of the beach which, because it is urban, is backed by a promenade and a number of hotels. "It will be possible to see how high the sea level may rise and, depending on results, to act in one way or another. It will be a very useful project in studying where sand is being lost."