Landsat Observes Barrier Islands

A survey of barrier islands published in 2011 in the Journal of Coastal Research offers the most thorough assessment to date of the thousands of small islands that hug the coasts of the world's landmasses. The study, led by Matthew Stutz of Meredith College and Orrin Pilkey of Duke University, raises new questions about how the unique islands form and evolve over time - and how they may fare as the climate changes and sea level rises. It was based on a global collection of satellite images as well as information from topographic and navigational charts. Landsat 7 acquired the images around 2000, but a private company mosaicked them as part of an effort funded by NASA and the United States Geological Survey.