Morphometry of non-tidal inlet (prorva) channels: Tendra-Dzharylgach barrier system, Black Sea Coast, Ukraine

Abstract

This study focuses on relatively understudied coastal systems – non-tidal inlets along a barrier coast. We describe the morphological elements of these inlets (prorvas) along the northern coast of the Black Sea using an example of the Tendra-Dzharylgach barrier (TDB) system, Ukraine. Channels vary from 15 m to >700 m in width, with relatively shallow depths of 1.0–1.5 m (rarely >3 m). This is a first comprehensive overview of TDB breaches and their evolution as inlets, with dynamic relationships between the channel and its associated depositional elements (frontal and bay-side deltas). Comparisons are made with the analogs of the latter along tide-influenced coasts: ebb- and flood-tidal deltas, respectively. The region of interest is subject to the effects of both rapid geomorphological change and ongoing military conflict, making this field dataset of great relevance in complementing other remote sensing databases at nearby sites.