Tracking Sediment Bypassing, Geomorphological Analysis, and Regional Sediment Management at Tidal Inlets
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University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School July 2019 Tracking Sediment Bypassing, Geomorphological Analysis, and Regional Sediment Management at Tidal Inlets Tanya M. Beck University of South Florida, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the Geology Commons Scholar Commons Citation Beck, Tanya M., "Tracking Sediment Bypassing, Geomorphological Analysis, and Regional Sediment Management at Tidal Inlets" (2019). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/etd/7741 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Tracking Sediment Bypassing, Geomorphological Analysis, and Regional Sediment Management at Tidal Inlets by Tanya M. Beck A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Geosciences College of Arts and Sciences University of South Florida Major Professor: Ping Wang, Ph.D. Mark Rains, Ph.D. Mark Luther, Ph.D. Julie Dean Rosati, Ph.D. Weiming Wu, Ph.D. Date of Approval: June 17, 2019 Keywords: Morphodynamics, inlet bypassing, sediment transport, RSM Copyright © 2019, Tanya M. Beck DEDICATION To my parents, from humble beginnings, who never would have imagined that their kid would travel this great of distance in the world of science. From splitting a cheeseburger for dinner with a kid after a day at the beach to entering into months-long debt to afford a beach vacation where there were surfable waves. You could have never guessed those sacrifices so long ago would instill on my heart a passion for understanding the natural world. I am blessed to have had your incredibly generous love and support all of these years. Sometimes people see something valuable in you that you were not aware of, and they take a chance on you. It was my good fortune to have the support and confidence of a generous mentor to catapult my mediocre undergraduate experience in science toward graduate research on coastal geomorphology. It is always hard work and perseverance that gets the job done, but I am so very grateful you gave me that job. Changes in my life that I could never had predicted took me down a winding career path attached to the best life-partner I could ask for and the most enthusiastic scientist I know. Your infallible and persistent promotion leading up to the decision to go back and write this dissertation, and your unwavering support hauling around a toddler and baby on “work weekends,” helped make this possible. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS In my career as a researcher with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, two incredible researchers sparked in me a hundred questions and ideas about coastal processes. Dr. Nicholas C. Kraus took me to nearly every coastline, inundated me with curiosity and wonder about natural processes, and convinced me to finish the work I had started. Dr. Julie Dean Rosati gifted infectious inquisitiveness and balanced direction in my research on coastal inlets and barrier islands, and graciously joined my committee to continue to serve in this capacity. Thank you to my steadfast USF committee members, Drs. Mark Rains and Mark Luther, who helped me balance out my proposed research against realistic problems in the region. I would like to thank Dr. Weiming Wu for his support in delving in to the details of the coastal sediment transport modeling methods applied in my study. And, finally, thank you to Dr. Ping Wang for the original opportunity to do what I do for a living, and for investing so much time and energy in to your teaching and mentoring. I am indebted to this tremendous team of teachers and researchers. Permission to publish this research was granted by the Chief of Engineers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineer, Headquarters. The authors would like to acknowledge funding and support from the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center’s (ERDC) Coastal Inlets Research Program (CIRP). TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................................... iv LIST OF FIGURES ...................................................................................................................................... v ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................................. x CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. 1 CHAPTER 2 REVIEW OF TIDAL INLET MORPHODYNAMICS, REGIONAL SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT PRACTICE, AND CONCEPTS OF SUSTAINABILITY AT BARRIER-INLET SYSTEMS ........................................................................................... 5 2.1 Introduction ......................................................................................................................... 5 2.2 Coastal Tidal Inlets ............................................................................................................. 6 2.2.1 Tidal Inlet Morphology .......................................................................................... 6 2.2.2 Sediment Transport and Tidal Inlet Bypassing .................................................... 10 2.2.3 Numerical Investigations into Barrier-Inlet Morphodynamics ............................ 14 2.3 Sediment Management at Tidal Inlets .............................................................................. 17 2.3.1 Ebb-tidal Delta Volume ....................................................................................... 18 2.3.2 Tidal Inlet Delta Mining ...................................................................................... 21 2.3.3 Sediment Reservoir Models ................................................................................. 26 2.3.4 Regional Sediment Management (RSM) ............................................................. 30 2.4 Barrier-Inlet System Sustainability and Long-term Management Perspectives ............... 35 2.4.1 Natural Barrier-Inlet Development and Evolution............................................... 35 2.4.2 The Effects of Sea-level Rise on Inlet Processes and Long-term Evolution of Natural Barrier-Inlet Systems .............................................................................. 37 2.4.3 Anthropogenic Effects to Barrier-Inlet Systems of the United States ................. 42 2.4.4 Advancements in Regional Budgets of Barrier-Inlet Systems in the U.S............ 43 2.4.5 Long-term Management of Barrier-Inlet Systems ............................................... 44 2.5 Summary ........................................................................................................................... 47 CHAPTER 3 MORPHODYNAMICS OF BARRIER-INLET SYSTEMS IN THE CONTEXT OF REGIONAL SEDIMENT MANAGEMENT, WITH CASE STUDIES FROM WEST- CENTRAL FLORIDA, USA ............................................................................................ 49 3.1 Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 49 3.1.1 Sediment Management at Tidal Inlets ................................................................. 51 3.1.2 The Challenge: Regional Sediment Management on Long-term Timescales ..... 53 3.2 Morphodynamics of Barrier-Inlet Systems ....................................................................... 55 3.2.1 Morphologic Characteristics and Sediment Processes......................................... 55 3.2.2 Sedimentological Characteristics ......................................................................... 58 3.2.3 Engineering Activities at a Barrier-Inlet System ................................................. 60 3.2.4 Morphodynamics Methods and Tools Supporting Regional Sediment Management ........................................................................................................ 63 i 3.3 Case Studies on Management Strategies for Barrier-Inlet Systems with Different Morphodynamics .............................................................................................................. 67 3.3.1 Management at an Artificially Stabilized, Mixed-Energy Inlet ........................... 68 3.3.2 Management at an Artificially Stabilized, Wave-Dominated Migratory Inlet .... 70 3.3.3 Sediment Budgets and Regional Considerations for the John’s Pass and Blind Pass Barrier-Inlet System ..................................................................................... 72 3.3.4 Management at a Partially-Structured Mixed-Energy Inlet ................................. 77 3.3.5 Management at a Natural, Mixed-Energy Inlet ................................................... 79 3.3.6 Sediment Budgets and Regional Considerations for the Pass-a-Grille and Bunces Pass Barrier-Inlet System ..................................................................................... 80 3.4 Discussion ......................................................................................................................... 84 3.4.1 Management of Tidal Inlet Sediment Bypassing ................................................. 85 3.4.2 A Regional Sediment Management Framework .................................................