PROCESS-RESPONSE MODELS FOR DEPOSITIONAL SHORELINES: THE GERMAN AND THE GEORGIA BIGHTS.

Abstract

Sediment dispersal patterns in tidal inlets within the German and the Georgia Bights are found to be controlled by three major environmental factors: the tide range, the nearshore wave energy, and the geometry of the back-barrier bay. Both embayments chosen for study are characterized by high wave energies and low tide ranges on their flanks, and low wave energies and high tide ranges in their centers. The spatial variability in inlet morphology, therefore, contains information on the relative role of tides and waves in inlet sediment dispersal. The paper concludes by proposing a simple model for inlet morphologies for successively greater relative role of tidal currents in sediment dispersal. Refs.