A barrier (coastal barrier) is an elongated coastal ridge of deposited sediment built-up by wave action above high tide level offshore or across the mouths of inlets or embayments. It is usually backed by a lagoon or swamp, which separates it from the mainland or from earlier barriers. A barrier, thus defined, is distinct from a bar, which is submerged at least at high tide (Shepard, 1952), and from reefs of biogenic origin (see Coral Reefs). Most barriers consist of sand, but some contain gravel as well as sand, and others consist entirely of gravel (shingle): see Gravel Barriers. Chesil Beach, on the south coast of England, is a well-known shingle barrier, and similar features are seen on the southeast coast of Iceland, and on the east and south coasts of South Island, New Zealand. Commonly the gravel has been derived from glacial or periglacial deposits, as on the north coast of Alaska and the southern shores of the Baltic Sea.
Barriers are said to occupy about 13% of the world’s...
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Cross-references
Barrier Islands
Bars
Coral Reefs
Drift and Swash Alignments
Gravel Barriers
Spits
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Bird, E. (2005). Barrier. In: Schwartz, M.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Coastal Science. Encyclopedia of Earth Science Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/1-4020-3880-1_26
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