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A mathematical model of spit growth and barrier elongation: Application to Fire Island Inlet (USA) and Badreveln Spit (Sweden)

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Author

Summary, in English

A mathematical model of spit growth and barrier elongation adjacent to an inlet (of arbitrary width), supplied by sediment coming from longshore sediment transport, was developed based on the spit growth model proposed by Kraus (1999). The fundamental governing equation is the conservation equation for sand, where the width of the spit is assumed constant during growth. The portion of the longshore sediment transport feeding the spit has been estimated based on the ratio between the depth of the inlet channel and the depth of active longshore transport. Sediment transport from the channel due to the inlet flow, as well as other sinks of sand (e.g., dredging), are taken into account. Measured data on spit elongation at Fire Island Inlet, United States, and at Badreveln Spit, Sweden, were used to validate the model. The simulated results agree well with the measured data at both study sites, where spit growth at Fire Island was restricted by the inlet flow and the growth at Badreveln Spit was unrestricted. The model calculation for Fire Island Inlet indicates that the dredging to maintain channel navigation is the major reason for the stable period observed from 1954 to 1994 at the Fire Island barrier. The average annual net longshore transport rate at the eastern side of the Fire Island inlet obtained in this study was about 220,000 m(3)/yr, of which approximately 165,000 m(3)/yr (75% of the net longshore transport) is deposited in the inlet feeding the spit growth, whereas the remaining portion (25%) is bypassed downdrift through the ebb shoal complex. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Publishing year

2011

Language

English

Pages

468-477

Publication/Series

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science

Volume

93

Issue

4

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

Elsevier

Topic

  • Water Engineering

Keywords

  • Mathematical model
  • Numerical model
  • Sediment transport
  • Tidal inlet
  • Spit growth
  • Barrier elongation

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1096-0015