Morphodynamics of tidal inlet systems
In: Annual Review of Fluid Mechanics. Annual Reviews: Palo Alto, Calif.,. ISSN 0066-4189; e-ISSN 1545-4479, more
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| Author keywords |
ebb-tidal delta, tidal bar, tidal meander, tidal network, tidal flats |
| Authors | | Top |
- de Swart, H.E.
- Zimmerman, J.T.F.
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| Abstract |
In this review we discuss the morphodynamics of tidal inlet systems that are typical of barrier coasts formed during a period of continuous sea-level rise during the Holocene. The morphodynamics concerns feedbacks between three major components: the hydrodynamics of tidal currents and wind waves; the erosion, deposition, and transport of sediment under the action of the former hydrodynamic agencies; and the morphology proper, which results from the divergence of the sediment transport. We discuss the morphodynamics of the different units that characterize a tidal inlet system: the overall system, the ebb-tidal delta, the tidal channels, channel networks, tidal bars and meanders, and finally the intertidal zone of tidal flats and salt marshes. In most of these units, stability analysis is a major guide to the establishment of equilibrium structures. |
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