Effects of a shallow flood shoal and friction on hydrodynamics of a multiple-inlet system

Abstract

Prior studies have shown that frictional changes owing to evolving geometry of an inlet in a multiple inlet-bay system can affect tidally driven circulation. Here, a step between a relatively deep inlet and a shallow bay also is shown to affect tidal sea-level fluctuations in a bay connected to multiple inlets. To examine the relative importance of friction and a step, a lumped element (parameter) model is used that includes tidal reflection from the step. The model is applied to the two-inlet system of Katama Inlet (which connects Katama Bay on Martha's Vineyard, MA to the Atlantic Ocean) and Edgartown Channel (which connects the bay to Vineyard Sound). Consistent with observations and previous numerical simulations, the lumped element model suggests that the presence of a shallow flood shoal limits the influence of an inlet. In addition, the model suggests an increasing importance of friction relative to the importance of the step as an inlet shallows, narrows, and lengthens, as observed at Katama Inlet from 2011 to 2014.