NUMERICAL MODELING OF BAR-BUILT ESTUARIES AND IMPLICATIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT OF INTERMITTENT INLETS

Abstract

Bar-built estuaries are common in tropical and temperate regions, accounting for nearly 3 percent of the estuaries throughout the world (McSweeney et al. 2017). Bar-built estuaries tend to have intermittent inlets that can open from the estuary side outward in regions with seasonal changes in river discharge (Kraus et al., 2008; Orescanin and Scooler 2018). It is well known that intermittent inlet dynamics primarily depend on the interplay between wave energy and inlet discharge driven by lagoon water levels (Rich and Keller, 2013). Forcing processes are generally understood, however, less is known about their interaction or thresholds, which is ultimately what drives the closure of intermittent inlets. The aim of this study is to explore numerical modeling techniques and parameters to simulate the hydrodynamics and closure of intermittent inlets in bar-built estuaries. Increasing the understanding of the conditions that lead to closing of intermittent inlets would allow for improved flood, sediment, and water quality management in the communities surrounding bar-built estuaries.