InTeGrate Modules and Courses >Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society > Student Materials > Module 3: Coastal Systems: Landscapes and Processes > Barrier Islands > Mixed-Energy Barriers
InTeGrate's Earth-focused Modules and Courses for the Undergraduate Classroom
showLearn More
hideHide
These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »
show Download
hideHide
The student materials are available for offline viewing below. Downloadable versions of the instructor materials are available from this location on the instructor materials pages. Learn more about using the different versions of InTeGrate materials »

Download a PDF of all web pages for the student materials

Download a zip file that includes all the web pages and downloadable files from the student materials

For the Instructor

These student materials complement the Coastal Processes, Hazards and Society Instructor Materials. If you would like your students to have access to the student materials, we suggest you either point them at the Student Version which omits the framing pages with information designed for faculty (and this box). Or you can download these pages in several formats that you can include in your course website or local Learning Managment System. Learn more about using, modifying, and sharing InTeGrate teaching materials.

Mixed-Energy Barriers

Mixed energy barrier island systems are typically short and wider at one end than the other end. Historically, this type of morphology has been referred to as a drumstick barrier island because of its approximate similarity in shape to the drumstick of chicken leg. The tidal inlets between these barriers are large because of the relatively higher tidal energy. Compared to wave dominated barriers, they also have large ebb tidal deltas because the strength of the tidal currents are able to transport sediment seaward in a regime of relatively low wave energy. The relatively wider end of the island is the result of the accretion of sediment that as waves refract around the edge of the ebb tidal delta, causing a localized reversal in the longshore transport pattern and leads to sand accumulation (Figure 3.25).

These materials are part of a collection of classroom-tested modules and courses developed by InTeGrate. The materials engage students in understanding the earth system as it intertwines with key societal issues. The collection is freely available and ready to be adapted by undergraduate educators across a range of courses including: general education or majors courses in Earth-focused disciplines such as geoscience or environmental science, social science, engineering, and other sciences, as well as courses for interdisciplinary programs.
Explore the Collection »