Post-Hurricane Moonscape?

[Ferg822]

My buddy from Turks and Caicos showed me these pictures of a beach after previous hurricanes. Probably the wierdest thing is the shells placed on top of all the sand piles. Any ideas to why this happens:

 

[smellzlikefish]

The shells probably act like a weight that pushes down on the sand, cementing it in place. Also they probably change the winds such that they flow around the mounds.