Climate Indicators

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

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.
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.
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.
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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