Houser, C.; Smith, A.; George, E.; Lehner, J., and Lunardi, B., 2021. Loose and limited concepts: Using coauthor network analysis to identify potential gaps in the understanding of barrier islands. Journal of Coastal Research, 37(4), 873–881. Coconut Creek (Florida), ISSN 0749-0208.

Understanding of coastal geomorphology expands through collaborative social networks that are expressed through coauthorship. This technical communication examines the structure of coauthorship networks and research on barrier islands with a focus on nearshore bars, rip currents, swash, beach-dune interaction, foredunes, and the backbarrier. Coauthorship in coastal geomorphology is largely based on regional organizational networks and academic lineages, which may limit the cross-fertilization of ideas and techniques that would allow for an improved understanding of barrier island response to storms and sea-level rise. It is also argued that the lack of collaboration has an influence on field sampling strategies and the development of process-based models and machine learning algorithms to predict coastal barrier evolution that ultimately inform coastal management practices.