Upper shoreface
The shoreface is the part of the barrier where the ocean meets the shore of the island. The barrier … See more

Barrier Islands can be observed on every continent on Earth, except Antarctica. They occur primarily in areas that are tectonically stable, such as "trailing edge coasts" facing (moving away from) ocean ridges formed by divergent b… See more

Water levels may be higher than the island during storm events. This situation can lead to overwash, which brings sand from the front of the island to the top and/or landward side of the island. This process leads to th… See more

Scientists have proposed numerous explanations for the formation of barrier islands for more than 150 years. There are three major theories: offshore bar, spit accretion, and submergence. No single theory can … See more

Richard Davis distinguishes two types of barrier islands, wave-dominated and mixed-energy.
Wave-dominated barrier islands are long, low, and narrow, and usually are bounded by unstable … See more