Fire Island Past, Present, and Future: The Environmental History of a Barrier Beach

摘要

The southern coast of Long Island is lined with long, narrow sandbar beaches formed and reformed by the combined effects of waves, currents, and erosion over relatively long periods of time and through sudden modifications caused by the force of storm surges that pound and overflow them. These barrier islands, which face the ocean on one side and landward bays on the other, represent the first line of defense against coastal storms and hurricanes, and they showcase some of the most noticeably changing environments on human timescales. Fire Island (which is at times a string of islands) encompasses a length of more than 30 miles of the central portion of Long Island's barrier beaches.