MAINE PUBLIC • April 3, 2023
Sea levels have changed dramatically since the area around Popham Beach was buried in ice 20,000 years ago. As the glaciers retreated, the sea extended far inland. About 13,000 years ago, as the land rebounded from the weight of the glaciers, the shoreline was six miles further out to sea. This barrier beach finally formed with sand deposited by the Kennebec River, and it migrated inland as sea levels gradually rose. Bates College researchers have found that the front dune has retreated about 24 meters in the last 80 years. “We are looking at a system here where we can watch the natural processes unimpeded by development," says Caitlin Cleaver, director of the Bates-Morse Mountain Conservation Area in Phippsburg. "And so it’s a really important place for understanding how these systems will respond to sea level rise over time.”