Effects of Entrance Constriction and Ocean Forcing on Waterlevels in an Unregulated Tidal Inlet

Abstract

Long period waterlevel variations, from 14 d to 1 yr, are examined for Hamanako, a tidal inlet on the Pacific coast of Honshu, Japan. Eleven years of records, prior to the regulation of the entrance to the inlet, are analyzed. At all the frequencies examined there were substantial fluctuations, some periodic and some irregular. Dominant features were abrupt changes in mean waterlevel and tidal range, and regular 14 d and 28 d cycles in most years. These cycles have been related to the role of the entrance constriction in generating spring-tidal pumping (STP). The rapid changes in tidal amplitude and mean waterlevel are explained in terms of changes in the hydraulic resistance of the entrance and have been correlated with outflows from the tidal lagoon caused by typhoons and catchment runoff. An annual cycle of amplitude 12.5 cm has been explained in terms of the annual cycle of the Kuroshio. Novel features of this study are the extensions to conventional time series analysis, and showing that the 14 d periodic fluctuations were caused by STP and that this process also contributed to the 28 d fluctuations. STP is invariably present in estuaries with a shallow inlet but is rarely identified; this paper shows methods to evaluate it and other long period components of the waterlevel record.