Morphology and Sediment Dynamics of the East Friesian Tidal Inlets, West Germany.
Abstract
This final report summarizes the results of field investigations along the German North Sea coast performed through support from the Office of Naval Research during the summers of 1978 and 1979. The investigated coastline, the East Friesian Islands, is composed of a series of barrier islands separated by large and deep tidal inlets. The wave energy is high (compared to the barrier island coastline of the eastern United States) and the tide range is about 2.5 meters. Tidal inlets represent perhaps the most dynamic of all coastal and shallow marine environments. To the navigator this implies continuously shifting channels and shoals, and to the beach developer or property owner it implies great uncertainty about future shoreline positions. To the geologists the tidal inlets represent major sediment sinks in the littoral transport system, sinks which may account for a significant percentage of the sandy components of shallow marine facies in the rock record. Investigation of sediment dynamics in the East Friesian inlets was undertaken with the objective of understanding the pattern of sediment bypassing of the inlet from updrift to downdrift shores. Only if this could be determined in detail would it be possible to predict, with adequate precision, the migration of navigation channels, the patterns of erosion and depositon on adjacent shores and the sedimentary facies of the inlet fill itself.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1982
- Accession Number
- ADA111460
Entities
People
- Dag Nummedal
- P. Shea Penland
Organizations
- Louisiana State University