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A significant portion of the shorelines of the world are characterized by the presence of barrier islands.  Barrier island systems take on considerable importance because they are the focus of human habitation, resource exploitation and commerce.  This course is designed to study the distribution, dynamics, resources, and influence on human activities of barrier islands, especially focusing on the barriers of the Atlantic shore of the United States.  Classroom presentations, laboratory studies and field study of representative islands and their dynamics will constitute the study in this course.

John Kensett 
Beach at Beverly, 1869-72, oil on canvas, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.