PrintHydrodynamic Regime
Because barrier islands are built by waves, they do not develop in tide-dominated environments. Waves are responsible for the longshore transport of sediment, and it is this transport that drives the deposition of sediment to create elongated features consisting of sandy barrier islands. There are, however, numerous examples of barrier islands within mixed-energy as well as wave-dominated environments. In fact, the two fundamental types of barrier islands are recognized as wave-dominated and mixed-energy barriers.