Formation of tidal sand waves: Effects of the spring‐neap cycle

Abstract

The effects that the spring‐neap cycle has on the formation of tidal sand waves are investigated by performing a linear stability analysis of the flat bottom configuration of a shallow sea subject to a modulated tidal current. The slow temporal changes of the tidal range tend to accelerate the process which leads to the appearance of tidal sand waves and to give rise to shorter bed forms, when sediment transport is dominated by the bed load contribution. When the suspended load provides a significant contribution to the total load, the growth rate of the sand waves becomes smaller and longer bed forms tend to be generated.