Resonance properties of tidal channels with multiple retention basisn: role of adjacent sea

We present an idealised model of the tidal response in a main channel with multiple secondary basins, co-oscillating with an adjacent sea. The sea is represented as a semi-infinite strip of finite width, anywhere between the limits of a channel extension (narrow) and a half-plane (wide). The sea geometry controls the extent to which radiative damping takes place and hence the type of conditions that effectively apply at the channel mouth. These conditions range between the two extremes of prescribing elevation (deep sea limit) and prescribing the incoming wave (sea as channel extension of the same depth, as done in an earlier study). The closer to this first extreme, the stronger the oscillations in the secondary basins may feed back onto the channel mouth and thus produce an amplified or weakened response in the system as a whole. The possibly resonant response is explained by analysing the additional waves that emerge on either side of the entrance of the secondary basin. Finally, we show that the simultaneous presence of two secondary basins may amplify or weaken the accumulated responses to these basins individuall

How do tidal divides affect the morphological evolution of tidal inlets?

Barrier coasts such as the Wadden Sea are important coastal systems that are characterized by a chain of tidal inlets and barrier islands. These systems are highly dynamic, and their long-term (i.e. centurial) morphological evolution is affected by complex interactions between various elements, such as the backbarrier basin and the tidal inlets. Tidal divides have been identified as important features for the stability of double inlet systems (van de Kreeke et al. 2008), while also allowing residual transport to pass over them (Duran-Matute et al. 2014). Despite these findings, the role of topographic highs (such as tidal divides) on the equilibrium cross-section and spacing of multiple tidal inlets is not yet fully understood. To study that is the aim of this work

Resonance properties of a closed rotating rectangular basin subject to space- and time-dependent wind forcing

We present an idealised process-based model to study the possibly resonant response of closed basins subject to periodic wind forcing. Two solution methods are adopted: a collocation technique (valid for arbitrary rotation) and an analytical expansion (assuming weak rotation). The spectral response, as obtained from our model, displays resonance peaks, which we explain by linking them to the spatial pattern of the wind forcing, the along-wind and cross-wind basin dimensions as well as the influence of rotation. Increasing bottom friction lowers the peaks. Finally, we illustrate how the spectral response is reflected in the time-dependent set-up due to a single wind even

Effect of bottom stress formulation and tidal forcing on modeled flow and sediment trapping in cross-sections of tide-dominated estuaries

Field data collected in cross-sections of tide-dominated estuaries reveal that flow and suspended sedimentconcentration show pronounced spatial and temporal behavior, which depend on factors like tidal discharge,density gradients and the geometry of the cross-section. Models are capable of reproducing and explainingmany aspects of the observations, but also marked discrepancies occur between model results and data. Theobjective of the present study is to systematically investigate the sensitivity of model output to formulationsof physical processes. This is done by comparing two types of models. The first is a numerical model (NM)that solves the full shallow water equations with prognostic salt dynamics. The second is an IM that solves areduced set of equations for tidal water motion and uses a diagnostic salinity field. The IM can be used as atool to interpret the complex output of the NM. The NM, on the other hand, can be used to probe the limits ofapplicability of the IM and may give hints on further improvements of the IM

A model comparison of flow and lateral sediment trapping in estuaries

Two different models for the distribution of flow and sediment over the cross-section of a tidally dominated channel are compared. The first is a state-of-the-art numerical model that solves the three-dimensional shallow water equations with prognostic density field. The second is an idealized model which includes residual and semi-diurnal tidalmotions and uses a diagnostic residual density gradient as baroclinic forcing. For bothmodels, an off-line sediment module is used to compute the lateral mean sediment distribution. For fairly high values of vertical diffusivity (~ 0.01 m2 s-1), a good qualitative agreement is found for residual flow patterns. The agreement of the amplitude of the semi-diurnal velocity components is satisfactory as well, although the phase distributions show deviations. The lateral mean sediment distributions are rather similar, and stem from a balance that is predominantly governed by mean concentration and residual currents. The flow patterns only differ qualitatively for either very low or very high tidal velocities. The sediment distributions only deviate for low tidal flow regimes

Unbounded boundaries and shifting baselines: estuaries and coastal seas in a rapidly changing world

This Special Issue of Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science presents contributions from ECSA 55; an international symposium organised by the Estuarine and Coastal Sciences Association (ECSA) and Elsevier on the broad theme of estuaries and coastal seas in times of intense change. The objectives of the SI are to synthesise, hypothesise and illustrate the impacts of global change on estuaries and coastal seas through learning lessons from the past, discussing the current and forecasting for the future. It is highlighted here that establishing impacts and assigning cause to the many pressures of global change is and will continue to be a formidable challenge in estuaries and coastal seas, due in part to: (1) their complexity and unbounded nature; (2) difficulties distinguishing between human-induced changes and natural variations and; (3) multiple pressures and effects. The contributing authors have explored a number of these issues over a range of disciplines. The complexity and connectivity of estuaries and coastal seas have been investigated through studies of physicochemical and ecological components, whilst the human imprint on the environment has been identified through a series of predictive, contemporary, historical and palaeo approaches. The impact of human activities has been shown to occur over a range of spatial and temporal scales, requiring the development of integrated management approaches. These 30 articles provide an important contribution to our understanding and assessment of the impacts of global change. The authors highlight methods for essential management/mitigation of the consequences of global change and provide a set of directions, ideas and observations for future work. These include the need to consider: (1) the cumulative, synergistic and antagonistic effects of multiple pressures; (2) the importance of unbounded boundaries and connectivity across the aquatic continuum; (3) the value of combining cross-disciplinary palaeo, contemporary and future modelling studies and; (4) the importance of shifting baselines on ecosystem functioning and the future provision of ecosystem services

On the nonlinear dynamics of a saline boundary layer formed by throughflow near the surface of a porous medium

We consider gravitational instability of saline boundary layers, observed at the subsurface of salt lakes. This boundary layer is the result of the convective transport induced by the evaporation at the horizontal surface of a confined porous medium. When this upward transport is balanced by salt dispersion, a steady state boundary layer is formed. However, this boundary layer can be unstable when perturbed. This results in complex groundwater motion and density fields. The aim of this paper is to investigate the existence of finite amplitude solutions describing these resulting patterns (both the number of solutions and their structure), their stability, and their dependency on the system Rayleigh and Péclet numbers. For this purpose we construct a low-dimensional dynamical system (a reduced model) by projecting the nonlinear model equations onto a relatively small set of eigenfunctions of the problem linearized at criticality. The Galerkin projection approach is complicated by the fact that the problem under consideration is non-self-adjoint due to the existing evaporation. This implies that the eigenfunctions do not form an orthogonal set and therefore the adjoint eigenfunctions are used for the projection. The reduced model is constructed in such a way that it is capable of providing solutions in the strongly nonlinear regime as well. Convergence of these solutions towards the fully nonlinear model results is shown by means of direct numerical simulations. Further, the reduced model seems to partly capture the complex nonlinear behavior as seen in Hele–Shaw experiments by Wooding et al. [R.A. Wooding, S.W. Tyler, I. White, P.A. Anderson, Convection in groundwater below an evaporating salt lake: 2. evolution of fingers or plumes, Water Resour. Res. 33 (6) (1997) 1219–1228]. The physical transition mechanism that explains the occurrence of some observed bifurcation types is presented as well