Open AccessLOW-PROFILE BARRIER ISLAND OVERWASH AND BREACHING IN THE GULF OF MEXICO
Author(s) -
Shea Penland,
John R. Suter
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
proceedings of conference on coastal engineering/proceedings of ... conference on coastal engineering
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2156-1028
pISSN - 0589-087X
DOI - 10.9753/icce.v19.157
Subject(s) - overwash , barrier island , geology , tropical cyclone , storm , shore , oceanography
An analysis of 17 tropical cyclone impacts along barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico has led to the following conclusions: 1) tropical cyclones are the primary mechanism of barrier island overwash and breaching, 2) landward-directed and seaward-directed overwash flow can breach barrier islands, 3) storm track orientation to the shoreline controls the direction of barrier island breaching, 4) shore-normal and right-oblique hurricane impacts breach barrier islands by landward-directed overwash flow, and 5) left-oblique hurricane impacts breach barrier islands by seaward-directed overwash flow.