Sedimentology

1978 Edition

Barrier islands

  • Duncan M. FitzGerald
  • Ilya V. Buynevich
Reference work entry
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/3-540-31079-7_20
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Introduction

Barrier islands are wave-built accumulations of sediment that accrete vertically due to wave action and wind processes and are separated from adjacent barriers or headlands by tidal inlets. Most are linear features that tend to parallel the coast, generally occurring in groups or chains. Barriers are separated from the mainland by a region termed the backbarrier consisting of tidal flats, shallow bays, lagoons and/or marsh systems. Barrier islands may be less than 100 m wide or more than several kilometers in width. Likewise, they range in length from several hundred meters to certain barriers along open coasts that extend for more than 100 km. Generally, barrier islands are wide where the supply of sediment has been abundant and relatively narrow where erosion rates are high or where the sediment was scarce during their formation. Their length is partly a function of sediment supply but is also strongly influenced by wave versus tidal energy of the region.

Coastal...

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Copyright information

© Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross, Inc. 1978

Authors and Affiliations

  • Duncan M. FitzGerald
    • 1
  • Ilya V. Buynevich
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of Earth SciencesBoston UniversityBostonUSA
  2. 2.Geology & Geophysics Department, MS #22, Woods Hole Oceanographic InstitutionWoods HoleUSA