Texas A&M University: Engineering A Better Day At The Beach
- Global Research Partnerships
- Apr 16
- 2 min read
Barrier islands protect coastal communities and infrastructure — so what happens if they disappear?
Driving through almost any coastal town, you’ll notice staples of being at the beach: Ice cream stands, seafood shacks, bridges leading to the shore. But what if they all washed away?
Barrier islands, which cover a majority of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, protect coastal infrastructure, beach towns and ecosystems — such as marshes, mangroves and seagrass meadows — from damaging storms and high-energy waves. In a recent study, researchers from Texas A&M University led by Dr. Orencio Duran Vinent gained a better understanding of what makes a barrier island a “barrier.”
The study, which used data from a representative set of barrier islands in Virginia, focused on the transition of barrier islands from their “high” state, in which the islands are richly vegetated barriers with mature dunes, to their “barren” state, where the islands become dune-less and barren.
When a barrier island is in a high state, the dunes act as natural dikes, protecting coastal communities from the impacts of storms and waves. In addition to protecting coastal communities, a healthy dune system allows a barrier island to protect itself from frequent flooding. Over time, flooding and beach erosion of islands in the high state can cause them to lose their dunes and vegetation, creating a barren state. When dunes are lost, so is the protection of the mainland.
A barrier island’s elevation also impacts its resilience over time. When barrier islands exist at a lower elevation, it makes them more susceptible to flooding, even from weaker storms and waves, putting them at increased risk of becoming barren.
