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![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090109054711im_/http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/images/tabs/dot_clear.gif) |
Virtual Field Trip - Anna Maria Island
Anna Maria Island, the first major island south of Tampa Bay, is highly developed. A set of nearshore
transverse bars are shown in the aerial photograph below. The processes that are responsible for the formation and
maintenance of the bars are currently being investigated. Analyses have shown that the bars are migrating to
the south. A paleogeographic map of Anna Maria Island shows various stages of
development over the last 3000 years.
A complete survey, utilizing ten adjacent lines, was repeated in March 1994, April 1996, January 1997, and
March 1997. Researchers will be analyzing the bathymetry in an attempt to describe the migration and morphological
changes of the bars.
![Anna Maria Island oblique aerial photograph, showing nearshore transverse bars](annamaria.jpg) |
Oblique aerial photograph of Anna Maria Island, showing nearshore transverse bars. |
![](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20090109054711im_/http://coastal.er.usgs.gov/images/tabs/dot_clear.gif) |