Barrier islands form as waves repeatedly deposit sediment parallel to the shoreline. As wind and waves shift according to weather patterns and local geographic features, these islands constantly move, ...

Louisiana’s coast loses barrier islands the way other states lose sand dunes: gradually, then all at once. Grand Isle is the one that’s still here and still inhabited. It sits at the mouth of ...

A new survey using high-altitude imaging technology found Mississippi and Louisiana barrier islands are eroding by at least ...

When storms like Hurricane Ian make landfall, the first things they hit often are barrier islands – thin ribbons of sand that line the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It’s hard to imagine how these ...

Barrier islands dot the landscape along Virginia's Eastern Shore, protecting the coastline from direct impacts of storms and sea-level rise. Made of sand, they are created and changed by environmental ...

Barrier islands protect the coastline from storms, storm surge, waves and flooding. They can act as a buffer between the ocean and beachfront property. As sea level rises, barrier islands retreat, or ...

Good public policy should be rooted in learned experience, but great public policy looks forward and anticipates the challenges on the horizon. Thank you to Sun Sentinel reporter Susannah Bryan for ...

Picture this: A sandy, 25-mile stretch of beach, just a three-hour drive from Miami but devoid of grocery stores or gas stations, restaurants, bars or hotels. Instead, sea turtles nest on the beach, ...

The Georgia coastline is not a clear boundary between land and sea. Rather, it’s an irregular, fluid line defined by barrier islands: puzzle pieces covered by saltwater marshes and old oak forests and ...