Bull island, Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge, South Carolina. Photo source: ©© Hunter Desportes
“Barrier islands are predictably hazardous locations on which to develop, invest, or maintain infrastructure. They are subject to long-term shoreline erosion, significant and devastating storm impacts, and rapid changes along inlet–adjacent shorelines.”—Robert Young, PhD, Director, Program for the Study of Developed Shorelines, Professor, Coastal Geology, Western Carolina University.
Excerpts;
Dozen islands are shrinking in Virginia’s barrier chain, which stretches for about 75 miles along the Eastern Shore.
Scientists offer plenty of possible explanations. Among them are a speedup in sea level rise, an increase in damaging storms, shifts in the south-running offshore currents of sand that nourish the islands…
Read Full Article, Pilot Online (03-03-2017)
The Barrier Islands: Islands in Motion; WFDD (08-03-2015)
For Vulnerable Barrier Islands, A Rush to Rebuild on U.S. Coast, Yale E 360 (01-18-2015)
Despite warnings from scientists, new construction continues on U.S. barrier islands that have been devastated by storms. The flood protection projects that accompany this development can have harmful consequences for coastal ecosystems being buffeted by climate change…
Coastal Barrier Resources System: Testimony of Robert S. Young, PhD (04-07-2014)
