signature=5a6243457e04e36fe2b5d271e79d808c,EVOLUTION OF TIDAL INLET GEOMETRIES IN A RESTORED COASTAL...

摘要：

Over the past two decades, the restoration of coastal wetlands has increased globally. The recognition of the environmental and ecological values of coastal wetlands has resulted in a shift from destruction for agriculture and development, to restoration and preservation. Many characteristics of these restored systems are governed by the stability of the inlet channels that control tidal exchange, water quality, and local flooding.Continuously, tidal inlets to coastal wetlands and estuaries exhibit a dynamic stability, changing in response to variations in the controlling hydrodynamic forcing functions (e.g. floods, tidal exchange, sedimentary regimes) and anthropogenic perturbations (e.g. dredging, entrance training, climate change). The understanding of tidal inlet stability relies on a synthesis of process-based and theoretical approaches. Previous key studies in understanding channel geomorphology for wetland restoration sites have been undertaken in the United Kingdom [12], San Francisco Bay estuary [13], and the Columbia River estuary [2]. These studies build on earlier tidal inlet research in estuaries and coastal bays [10][3], and the hydraulic geometry of fluvial and estuarine systems [8]. Intrinsic to the description of these approaches is a concept that there is an equilibrium form of an inlet, for a given-sized upstream tidal area, and a tidal range within an estuary that is relative stable over long periods of time.[13] surveyed a number of existing, as well as historical marshes, in San Francisco Bay and developed empirical geometry relationships of depth, width, and cross-sectional area of mature tidal channels, as functions of marsh area and tidal prism. The relationships are based on data from tidal marsh areas ranging in size from 2 to 5,700 ha. The regression relationship for cross-sectional area as a function of tidal prism, as determined by [13], is similar to the one derived by [12], however, shows less data scatter (r2 = 0.92) than those developed by [12] for more heterogeneous conditions (r2 = 0.8). [13] also compared channel evolution data of immature marsh systems subjected to an increased tidal prism, with the hydraulic geometry relationships of mature marsh systems, to predict and assess the equilibrium morphology of these youthful channels. However, several studies suggest that relationships derived for tidal systems in one region are not applicable in another because of variations in tidal regimes, elevation, sediment load, as well as bed and bank friction conditions [1][13][5].The time histories of amplitude and phase of tidal constituents within estuaries present signatures that, along with established estuary stability theories, may allow for an informed assessment of the stability of an estuary and a prognosis of its future course. [9] showed that several large, apparently stable estuaries in New South Wales (NSW), which have been modified by entrance breakwaters, have been in an unstable scouring mode for decades with prognoses of centuries for them to reach new hydraulically stable regimes. Implications have included extensive erosion protection works and permanent changes to fringing ecologies, none of which had been predicted.Our review of literature reveals no analyses combining stochastic approaches for assessing tidal inlet stability to coastal wetlands undergoing restoration, in mature-barrier, tidally-dominated estuary systems. This

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