Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Hydrodynamical Modeling Of A Multiple‐Inlet Estuary/Barrier System: Insight Into Tidal Inlet Formation And Stability, Carl T. Friedrichs, David G. Aubrey, Graham S. Giese, Paul E. Speer

VIMS Books and Book Chapters

Two specific questions are addressed concerning the role of tidal hydrodynamics in determining the long‐term morphologic evolution of the Nauset Beach‐Monomoy Island barrier system and the Chatham Harbor‐Pleasant Bay tidal estuary, Massachusetts: (1) why do the barrier and estuary exhibit a long‐term (∼150 yr) cycle of new inlet formation, and (2) once a new inlet forms, why is the resulting multiple inlet system unstable? To address these questions, a branched 1‐d numerical model is used to recreate the basic flow patterns in the tidal estuary at ten‐year intervals during the last half century and also to recreate flow conditions shortly …