Letter BGeology glossary

Bar Built Estuary

A bar-built estuary is an estuary that is formed behind a barrier such as a sandbar or spit, typically found along coastal plains. These estuaries are characterized by their shallow waters and limited tidal exchange with the open ocean. They are important ecosystems and are studied for their unique hydrology and role in coastal sediment dynamics.

Satellite view of the Outer Banks barrier islands of Cape Hatteras National Seashore, with the broad, shallow Pamlico Sound behind them — Fig. 1 The barrier islands of Cape Hatteras National Seashore (North Carolina) with Pamlico Sound behind them, a bar-built estuary. Landsat 8, 7 June 2015. NASA Earth Observatory image by Jesse Allen, using Landsat data from the U.S. Geological Survey.

Source Day, J. W., Kemp, G. P., & Yáñez-Arancibia, A. (2012). Estuarine Ecology. Wiley-Blackwell.

join.me