Abstract
This paper describes a comprehensive study comprising field measurements and numerical modeling of hydrodynamic and sedimentary processes undertaken to help assess alternative engineering measures for promoting and maintaining a stable and safe navigation channel through a dynamic tidal inlet. Shippagan Gully is a dynamic tidal inlet located on the Gulf of St-Lawrence near Le Goulet, New Brunswick, Canada. The tidal lagoon transects the Acadian Peninsula, hence the flows through the inlet are controlled by the tidal phase lag between the two open boundaries. Due to the nature of this phase lag, the ebb flows through Shippagan Gully, which regularly exceed 2 m/s, are typically twice as strong as the flood flows. As a consequence of this imbalance, the hydrodynamic and sedimentary processes at the inlet, and the morphologic features produced by these processes, are strongly dominated by the ebb flows. Over the past decades, shipping activities through Shippagan Gully have been threatened due to sediment deposition along the east side of the inlet which has caused the channel to narrow and shift westward. The objective of the present study was to develop an improved numerical model of the hydrodynamic and sedimentary processes at Shippahan Gully, and then apply the model to assess different engineering interventions for stabilizing the inlet and improving navigation safety.
Highlights
Shippagan Gully is a narrow channel at the mouth of a dynamic tidal inlet located on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence near the Le Goulet village, New Brunswick, Canada
Due to the nature of this phase lag in tidal forcing, the ebb flows through Shippagan Gully, which can exceed 2 m/s, are roughly twice as strong as the flood stage velocities
This scenario represents the case where no intervention is made at the Shippagan Gully inlet; meaning no changes made to the existing bathymetry or structures
Summary
Shippagan Gully is a narrow channel at the mouth of a dynamic tidal inlet located on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence near the Le Goulet village, New Brunswick, Canada (see Error! Reference source not found.). Shippagan Gully is a narrow channel at the mouth of a dynamic tidal inlet located on the Gulf of Saint Lawrence near the Le Goulet village, New Brunswick, Canada It is a interesting and complex tidal inlet due to the fact that its tidal lagoon bisects the Acadian Peninsula and is open to the sea at two locations which generate an appreciable phase-lag in the tidal cycle. Due to the nature of this phase lag in tidal forcing, the ebb flows through Shippagan Gully, which can exceed 2 m/s, are roughly twice as strong as the flood stage velocities. Due to the ebb flow domination, this inlet cannot be classified or analyzed using traditional methods such as Escoffier curve analysis (Escoffier, 1940, 1977) or the tidal prism analysis (O’Brian, 1931). The tides at Shippagan Gully are semi-diurnal, and the tidal range is generally on the order of 2m or less
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