How do barrier islands work and why they are so important?

Oct 7, 2022

Barrier islands are made of sandy, erodible soil and subject to high-energy wave action. Image: Unsplash/Peregrine Photography

Anna Linhoss

Assistant Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, Mississippi State University

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Ocean City, Maryland is built on Fenwick Island, an Atlantic barrier island. Image: The Conversation.

How longshore drift moves sediment along a beach. 1=beach. 2=sea 3=longshore current direction 4=incoming waves 5=swash 6=backwash. Image: The Conversation.

Survey images of barrier islands of Alabama, Mississippi and southeast Louisiana, collected to document changes resulting from Hurricane Isaac in August 2012. Image: The Conversation.

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