In Russiangeomorphology, aperesyp (пересыпь), also known as abay-mouth bar[1] is a narrowsandbar that rises above the water level (like aspit) and separates aliman or alagoon from the sea. Unliketombolo bars, aperesyp seldom forms a contiguous strip and usually has one or several channels (calledgirlo (гирло) in Russian) that connect the liman and the sea.[2][3] The nounпересыпь is derived from the verb пересыпать, "sprinkle over".
Similarly to spits,peresyps are formed by actions ofsurf zone currents from sand, gravel/pebbles, and crushed shells as a result of longitudinal (longshore drift) or transverse transport ofsediment.[3] Sometimes a peresyp may be formed when two spits on the two sides of a liman grow and eventually meet.[4]
Bothlimans andperesyps can be maritime (theperesyp bar is created by the currents of a sea) orfluvial (theperesyp bar is created by the slowed or turned flow of a sediment-saturated river).[5]Sometimes the sediments close the channels in a peresyp and sometimes the water washes them through again. Even when there are no channels, the water can still seep through or spill over theperesyp. The sea water evaporates within the closedliman, thus increasing its salinity. In this way, converting fromlimans, a number ofsalt lakes inCrimea were formed.[2]
A number of geographical locations are called "peresyp", most notable being thePeresyp district ofOdesa built on the wideperesyp that bars theKhadzhibey andKuialnyk limans from theBlack Sea. Other locations include theAnapa Peresyp [ru] spit,Tylihul Peresyp [uk] byTylihul Estuary, Ukraine
Peresyps have poor but peculiar flora and fauna.[6]
