actually in the American translation of the two words...what i said was true.
of course, the fauna and the flora will take the water content into account.
a barrier system includes the beach, dunes, flats, and marshes. each of these geomorphic elements has a characteristic morphology. the beach responds to changing energy conditions on a daily or even hourly basis. the berm is the region most directly affected by waves during storms and therefore is quite unstable. the berm grades into the foredune, but in some cases the berm may not exist.
the dune zone may consist of a single ridge, several parallel ridges, or a number of curving lines, stabilized by beach grass. there may also be an open dune region without distinctive lines, and the dune zone may extend as far as teh intertidal zone (area between high and low tide) on the bayside or grade into the barrier flats. those islands that are subject to periodic or regular overwash tend to be dominated by scattered dunes with extensive barrier flats.
the barrier flat....
i could continue, but believe me...
the high marsh is the region of the intertidal zone that ranges from the highest tides (spring) to the smallest tides (neap); the low marsh extends from the high marsh to mean sea level or slightly below.
