Stability of a micro-tidal inlet using semi-numerical approach

Abstract

Tidal inlets get disconnected depending on the seasons due to the formation of sand bars near its mouth are termed as “seasonally open tidal inlets.” These inlets are usually small of width of about 100 m and occur in micro-tide (tidal range not exceeding 1 m). Since the east coast of India experiences a net littoral drift of up to about 0.8 Mm3/annum, which is one of the largest in magnitudes that needs to be considered in the analysis of modeling of the sand bar formation and the associated phenomena. Kondurpalem inlet situated along the South east coast of India is considered as a case study. A frequency domain wave model (STeady-state spectral WAVE) has been used to compute the nearshore wave climate. The wave-induced currents have been obtained, and the longshore sediment transport rate is obtained through empirical relations. The tidal prism is found from measured depth and tidal velocity by solving shallow water equations. The stability of the inlet is investigated by applying the criteria developed by Bruun (1986). The effect of a pair of training walls on maintaining the stability of the mouth is reassessed over the periods.