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Barrierisland
FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Barrierislandsarecoastallandformsandatypeofdunesystemthatareexceptionallyflat
orlumpyareasofsandthatformbywaveandtidalactionparalleltothemainlandcoast.
Theyusuallyoccurinchains,consistingofanythingfromafewislandstomorethana
dozen.Theyaresubjecttochangeduringstormsandotheraction,butabsorbenergyand
protectthecoastlinesandcreateareasofprotectedwaterswherewetlandsmayflourish.A
barrierchainmayextenduninterruptedforoverahundredkilometers,exceptingthetidal
inletsthatseparatetheislands,thelongestandwidestbeingPadreIslandofTexas.[1]The
lengthandwidthofbarriersandoverallmorphologyofbarriercoastsarerelatedto
parametersincludingtidalrange,waveenergy,sedimentsupply,sealeveltrends,and
basementcontrols.[2]

Barrierislandcontrastedwithothercoastallandforms.

Chainsofbarrierislandscanbefoundalongapproximatelythirteenpercentoftheworld's
coastlines.[3]Theydisplaydifferentsettings,suggestingthattheycanformandbemaintainedinavarietyofenvironmentalsettings.Numeroustheories
havebeengiventoexplaintheirformation.

Contents
1 Constituentparts
2 Processes
3 FormationTheories
3.1 Offshorebartheory
3.2 Spitaccretiontheory
3.3 Submergencetheory
3.4 BoulderBank
4 Ecologicalimportance
5 Seealso
6 Notes
7 References

Constituentparts
Lowershoreface
Theshorefaceisthepartofthebarrierwheretheoceanmeetstheshoreoftheisland.Thebarrierislandbodyitselfseparatestheshorefacefromthe
backshoreandlagoon/tidalflatarea.Characteristicscommontothelowershorefacearefinesandswithmudandpossiblysilt.Furtheroutintotheocean
thesedimentbecomesfiner.Theeffectfromthewavesatthispointisweakbecauseofthedepth.Bioturbationiscommonandmanyfossilscanbefound
here.
Middleshoreface
Themiddleshorefaceislocatedintheuppershoreface.Themiddleshorefaceisstronglyinfluencedbywaveactionbecauseofitsdepth.Closertoshore
thegrainsizewillbemediumsizesandswithshellpiecescommon.Sincewaveactionisheavier,bioturbationisnotlikely.
Uppershoreface
Theuppershorefaceisconstantlyeffectedbywaveaction.Thisresultsindevelopmentofherringbonesedimentarystructuresbecauseoftheconstant
differingflowofwaves.Grainsizeislargersands.
Foreshore
Theforeshoreistheareaonlandbetweenhighandlowtide.Liketheuppershoreface,itisconstantlyaffectedbywaveaction.Crossbeddingand
laminationarepresentandcoarsersandsarepresentbecauseofthehighenergypresentbythecrashingofthewaves.Thesandisalsoverywellsorted.
Backshore
Thebackshoreisalwaysabovethehighestwaterlevelpoint.Thebermisalsofoundherewhichmarkstheboundarybetweentheforeshoreand
backshore.Windistheimportantfactorhere,notwater.Duringstrongstormshighwavesandwindcandeliveranderodesedimentfromthebackshore.
Dunes
Thedunesaretypicalofabarrierisland,locatedatthetopofthebackshore.SeeCoastalDunesformoreinformation.Theduneswilldisplay
characteristicsoftypicaleolianwindblowndunes.Thedifferencehereisthatdunesonabarrierislandtypicallycontaincoastalvegetationrootsand
marinebioturbation.
Lagoonandtidalflats
Thelagoonandtidalflatareaislocatedbehindtheduneandbackshorearea.Herethewaterisstillandthisallowsforfinesilts,sands,andmudtosettle
out.Lagoonscanbecomehosttoananaerobicenvironment.Thiswillallowhighamountsoforganicrichmudtoform.Vegetationisalsocommon.

Processes
MigrationandOverwash
Waterlevelsmaybehigherthantheislandduringstormevents.Thissituationcanleadtooverwash,whichbringssandfromthefrontoftheislandtothe
topand/orlandwardsideoftheisland.Thisprocessleadstotheevolutionandmigrationofthebarrierisland.[4]
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FormationTheories
Scientistshaveproposednumerousexplanationsfortheformationofbarrierislandsformorethan150years.
Therearethreemajortheories:offshorebar,spitaccretion,andsubmergence.[2]Nosingletheorycanexplainthe
developmentofallbarriers,whicharedistributedextensivelyalongtheworld'scoastlines.Scientistsacceptthe
ideathatbarrierislands,includingotherbarriertypes,canformbyanumberofdifferentmechanisms.[5]
Thereappearstobesomegeneralrequirementsforformation.Barrierislandsystemsdevelopmosteasilyon
wavedominatedcoastswithasmalltomoderatetidalrange.Coastsareclassifiedintothreegroupsbasedon
tidalrange:microtidal,02metertidalrangemesotidal,24metertidalrangeandmacrotidal,>4metertidal
range.Barrierislandstendtoformprimarilyalongmicrotidalcoasts,wheretheytendtobewelldevelopedand
nearlycontinuous.Theyarelessfrequentlyformedinmesotidalcoasts,wheretheyaretypicallyshortwithtidal
inletscommon.Barrierislandsareveryrarealongmacrotidalcoasts.[6]Alongwithasmalltidalrangeanda
wavedominatedcoast,theremustbearelativelylowgradientshelf.Otherwise,sandaccumulationintoa
sandbarwouldnotoccurandinsteadwouldbedispersedthroughouttheshore.Anamplesedimentsupplyisalso
arequirementforbarrierislandformation.[3]Thelastmajorrequirementforbarrierislandformationisastable
sealevel.Itisespeciallyimportantforsealeveltoremainrelativelyunchangedduringbarrierislandformation
andgrowth.Ifsealevelchangesaretoodrastic,timewillbeinsufficientforwaveactiontoaccumulatesandinto
adune,whichwilleventuallybecomeabarrierislandthroughaggradation.Theformationofbarrierislands
requiresaconstantsealevelsothatwavescanconcentratethesandintoonelocation.[7]

Offshorebartheory

OuterbarrierinLongIsland.

TheMississippiAlabamabarrier
islandsguardingMobileBayand
MississippiSound.

In1845theFrenchmanEliedeBeaumontpublishedanaccountofbarrierformation.Hebelievedthatwaves
movingintoshallowwaterchurnedupsand,whichwasdepositedintheformofasubmarinebarwhenthewavesbrokeandlostmuchoftheirenergy.
Asthebarsdevelopedvertically,theygraduallyroseabovesealevel,formingbarrierislands.

Spitaccretiontheory
AmericangeologistGroveKarlGilbertfirstarguedin1885thatthebarriersedimentscamefromlongshoresources.Heproposedthatsedimentmoving
inthebreakerzonethroughagitationbywavesinlongshoredriftwouldconstructspitsextendingfromheadlandsparalleltothecoast.Thesubsequent
breachingofspitsbystormwaveswouldformbarrierislands.[8]

Submergencetheory
WilliamJohnMcGeereasonedin1890thattheEastandGulfcoastsoftheUnitedStateswereundergoing
submergence,asevidencedbythemanydrownedrivervalleysthatoccuralongthesecoasts,includingRaritan,
DelawareandChesapeakebays.Hebelievedthatduringsubmergence,coastalridgeswereseparatedfromthe
mainland,andlagoonsformedbehindtheridges.[9]HeusedtheMississippiAlabamabarrierislands(consistsof
Cat,Ship,Horn,PetitBoisandDauphinIslands)asanexamplewherecoastalsubmergenceformedbarrier
islands.Hisinterpretationwaslatershowntobeincorrectwhentheagesofthecoastalstratigraphyandsediment
weremoreaccuratelydetermined.[10]
AlongthecoastofLouisiana,formerlobesoftheMississippiRiverdeltahavebeenreworkedbywaveaction,
formingbeachridgecomplexes.Prolongedsinkingofthemarshesbehindthebarriershasconvertedtheseformer
vegetatedwetlandstoopenwaterareas.Inaperiodof125years,from1853to1978,twosmallsemiprotected
baysbehindthebarrierdevelopedasthelargewaterbodyofLakePelto,leadingtoIslesDernieres'sdetachment
fromthemainland.[5]

BoulderBank

IslesDernieresin1853and1978.
WaveactiondetachesIslesDernieres
fromthemainland.

AnunusualnaturalstructureinNewZealandmaygivecluestotheformationprocessesofbarrierislands.The
BoulderBank,attheentrancetoNelsonHavenatthenorthernendoftheSouthIsland,isaunique13kmlong
stretchofrockysubstrateafewmetresinwidth.Itisnotstrictlyabarrierisland,asitislinkedtothemainlandat
oneend.TheBoulderBankiscomposedofgranodioritefromMackayBluff,whichliesclosetothepointwherethebankjoinsthemainland.Itisstill
debatedwhatprocessorprocesseshaveresultedinthisoddstructure,thoughlongshoredriftisthemostacceptedhypothesis.Studieshavebeen
conductedsince1892todeterminethespeedofbouldermovement.Ratesofthetopcoursegravelmovementhavebeenestimatedat7.5metresa
year.[11]

Ecologicalimportance
Barrierislandsarecriticallyimportantinmitigatingoceanswellsandotherstormeventsforthewatersystemsonthemainlandsideofthebarrierisland,
aswellasprotectingthecoastline.Thiseffectivelycreatesauniqueenvironmentofrelativelylowenergy,brackishwater.Multiplewetlandsystems
suchaslagoons,estuaries,and/ormarshescanresultfromsuchconditionsdependingonthesurroundings.Theyaretypicallyrichhabitatsforavariety
offloraandfauna.Withoutbarrierislands,thesewetlandscouldnotexisttheywouldbedestroyedbydailyoceanwavesandtidesaswellasocean
stormevents.OneofthemostprominentexamplesistheLouisianabarrierislands.[12]

Seealso
Islandwelding
OuterBanks
VirginiaBarrierIslands
NewYorkBarrierIslands
Texasbarrierislands
SeaIslands
LongBeachIsland
BaldHeadIsland
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Notes
1.Garrison,J.R.,Jr.,Williams,J.,PotterMiller,S.,Weber,E.T.,II,McMechan,G.,andZeng,X.,2010,"GroundpenetratingradarstudyofNorthPadreIsland
Implicationsforbarrierislandintervalarchitecture,modelforgrowthofprogradationalmicrotidalbarrierislands,andGulfofMexicosealevelcyclicity:"Journal
ofSedimentaryResearch,v.80,p.303319.
2.DavisJr.,p.144.
3.Smith,Q.H.T.,Heap,A.D.,andNichol,S.L.,2010,"Originandformationofanestuarinebarrierisland,TaporaIsland,NewZealand:"JournalofCoastal
Research,v.26,p.292300.
4.LorenzoTrueba,J.Ashton,A.(2014)."Rollover,drowning,anddiscontinuousretreat:Distinctmodesofbarrierresponsetosealevelrisearisingfromasimple
morphodynamicmodel".JournalofGeophysicalResearchEarthSurface119(4).doi:10.1002/2013JF002941.
5.DavisJr.,p.147
6.Boggs,S.,Jr.,2012,PrinciplesofSedimentologyandStratigraphy:NewJersey,PearsonEducation,Inc.,585p.
7.CoastalServicesCenter,NOAAsCoastalServicesCenterBarrierIslands:FormationandEvolution(http://www.csc.noaa.gov/beachnourishment/html/geo/barrier.h
tm).AccessedApril10,2011.
8.DavisJr.,pp.144145
9.DavisJr.,p.145
10.Morton,p.2
11.M.R.Johnson(2001)."NelsonBoulderBank".NewZealandJournalofGeologyandGeophysics44:7988.doi:10.1080/00288306.2001.9514924.
12.Stone,G.W.,andMcBride,R.A.,1998,"Louisianabarrierislandsandtheirimportanceinwetlandprotection:forecastingshorelinechangeandsubsequent
responseofwaveclimate:"JournalofCoastalResearch,v.14,p.900915.

References
DavisJr.,RichardA.Fitzgerald,DuncanM.(2004),BeachesandCoasts,UnitedKingdom:BlackwellPublishing,ISBN0632043083
Morton,RobertA.(2007),HistoricalChangesintheMississippiAlabamaBarrierIslandsandtheRolesofExtremeStorms,Sealevel,andhuman
activities(PDF),U.S.GeologicalSurvey
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