This report is a documentation of the rates and directions of migration of limesand dunes in parts of Western Australia. With the application of ArcGIS, georeferenced maps and aerial images from 1960 to 2010 were used to measure and monitor the locations of a selection of mobile dunes along the Mid West coast between Lancelin and Geraldton. Over the period of the study those measured travelled at rates that averaged between 4.1 and 15.8 metres a year for the 50 years, generally moving in a northerly direction, covering between 20,000 and 14 hectares and the longest migration distance identified is 21 kilometres.

The monitoring of migration rates can provide valuable information for resource management and geo-hazard risk reduction as the rates and directions measured can provide predictive tools to document future impacts on built infrastructure. Therefore this report analyses factors that can influence the migration rate and direction of dunes such as climate data, dune morphology, sediment supply and human activity. The main factors which influence the presence of mobile sand dunes in Western Australia are the wind regime and sediment supply. The study also discusses solutions to stabilise dunes in coastal areas. However, because of the vagaries of natural processes, no prediction of impact dates or severity presented herein are to be taken as fixed or firm. Any users of the data or suggested times or severity of impacts must undertake their own specific studies if definite predictions are required.