Eighty years after D-Day, BYU geologists uncover lingering WWII shrapnel on Normandy beaches to study how history still shapes the coastline today.
On the morning of June 6, 2024, exactly 80 years after the invasion of D-Day, four geologists — American, Canadian, and British — stood on Normandy’s shores and represented the same Allied nations that landed there in 1944. But this time, they weren’t armed with rifles and tanks. Their tools were metal detectors, shovels and sediment augers. Their mission: to uncover shrapnel still lodged in Normandy’s sands.
As lead researcher, BYU professor of geology Sam Hudson first wanted to find out whether shrapnel still remained on the beaches — and how much of it was left.
“One of the big focus areas of geology is human interaction with natural systems,” Hudson said. “It’s really important to see how long man-made materials like shrapnel remain in a natural setting.”
Hudson and his team of international geologists systematically collected sand samples from the surface and from sediment cores at the five landing sites along the Normandy coastline. The team then used magnets to separate metallic shrapnel fragments from the sand.
“Normal sand grains are naturally rounded and worn down by the waves,” Hudson said. “The shrapnel pieces are obviously not natural. They are large, jagged and you can see the welding of the metal.”
The researchers found shrapnel across all five beaches, with some of the highest concentrations at Omaha Beach where the heaviest combat occurred. The shrapnel tends to collect in high-energy areas of the beach, where the waves are most active. Erosion has been slow, and about 1% of the beach is still made up of shrapnel.
The wartime debris also plays a surprising role in geological research. Since the exact date the shrapnel arrived is known, these fragments can be used to track and measure changes in the beaches over time.
“Understanding the rate of change in natural systems is a big deal, and it’s something that’s usually really hard to measure,” Hudson said.
Hudson and his student researchers are using the shrapnel as tracers to study coastal processes. By analyzing where the fragments are found, they can measure how much sediment has built up over the past 80 years and track how it has shifted across the beach.
Their research shows that, on average, the beaches grow about 0.6 centimeters each year — a finding especially relevant to coastal cities facing the direct effects of changing shorelines.
Last month, Hudson returned to Normandy with six BYU students to collect more sand samples for their research. Working on the very beaches where Allied troops once landed gave the students a unique perspective — not only on geology, but on the lasting impact of history on the natural world.
“It’s been a really exciting opportunity to show this intersection of geology and history to the world,” said student Liv Tatum. “It’s especially interesting to see how societal events like World War II are still affecting the land itself.”
For Hudson, this project has allowed him to honor his grandfather who served in the Pacific during World War II. For the students, the experience brought a similar sense of meaning.
“When you are actually there on the beach, you realize the shrapnel samples aren’t just test tubes in a lab,” said student Kassi Ramirez. “There are stories and real people behind every sample we analyze. You can’t understand that by just reading a textbook.”
Hudson has presented this research at several academic conferences and has been invited to speak at the International Conference on Military Geosciences at West Point next year.
