[1] A common process on barrier islands, Overwash redistributes sediment and facilitates the migration of barrier islands in response to sea level rise.
[2] Overwash can occur as a result of runup (the maximum height of the swash), or inundation.
[5] The amount of overwash and washover sedimentation also depends on the characteristics of the storm and the setting — coastal development tends to reduce the amount of sand deposited on a barrier island during overwash, with consequences for barrier island evolution.
[6] In paleotempestology, overwash deposits are frequently used to reconstruct prehistoric tropical cyclones.
[7] Sediment deposited via overwash can also impact the rate of growth of salt marsh plants — a small amount of sand deposited can increase salt marsh plant growth, but too much deposited sand will kill vegetation.